Ghost Hunt! Behind the Scenes!
by Naruisawesome
Summary: Ever wondered how the characters of Ghost Hunt would be like behind the cameras while making the anime? How they would act towards each other? Join us to see behind the scenes, bloopers, and more funny, adorable, and dramatic things they do! Written by NIA and AmyNChan. Discontinued!
1. Chapter 1: Meeting the Competitions

**Naruisawesome: Hey, peoples~! Ehe, so yeah, Amy-chan and I started another story together! We thought it'd be fun to do.**

**AmyNChan: Yup~! This is our take of how we think things would be behind the scenes of Ghost Hunt. *^_^***

**Naruisawesome &amp; AmyNChan: We hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Neither of us own Ghost Hunt!**

* * *

So, Mai and Oliver were walking, hand in hand, on their way to an audition. Normally, Oliver would not have bothered with it, but his girlfriend had been very, _very_ insistent that they do this together. Of course he never really expected them to get the parts anyway, so really, what harm could it do?

"This is going to be so much fun!" Mai chirped beside him as they looked at the looming building they had come to. Studio NA. "If we get these parts, then we'll be in an actual _anime_! Won't that be so cool?"

"Perhaps." Oliver replied dryly, glancing at the overly-excited girl. "But Mai, you have to remember that just because you audition doesn't you're going to get the part..."

"Oh, don't be such a spoilsport," the girl pouted, poking the cheek of her boyfriend with a frown. "It's all about the experience, Noll! You can't expect everything to be about whether you get the part or not."

Oliver just sighed, knowing she wouldn't listen to him no matter what he said. She was just going to be optimistic about the situation, like always. Then again, that was one of the reasons he had stayed by her side for the past four years. It was one of the reasons he loved her.

"Come on, hurry!" Mai exclaimed with a grin as she walked faster, tugging him from behind her. Oliver allowed himself to be pulled along, taking in the details of the building they were now inside. Very spacious, yet cramped to the hilt with excess props and stages. They were looking for stage 3. It didn't take long to find it once they came across stage 1, considering that the stages were in numerical order.

Oliver sighed as his girlfriend pulled him along. How did she even manage to rope him into this again? Oh, that was right. She saw this in the newspaper and spontaneously decided it was worth a shot. And he, being her boyfriend, absolutely _had_ to be pulled along. The things he did for this girl...

"Okay...this is it!" Mai whispered excitedly as they stepped into the large room. Oliver allowed himself to be pulled onto stage 3 by his excited girlfriend. He looked around to see at least ten different people here, all auditioning for different parts. Surely there had to be more to come though.

He stared at one man in surprise for a few moments as he and Mai walked by. The man looked kind of like him...huh, weird. Another person was a very loud girl with red hair that shot behind her back, laughing haughtily at something some person had said. Oliver flinched away. He would hate to work with someone like that.

"Watch where you're going," a girl with short black hair shot upon bumping into Oliver's back. He immediately disliked her and he could tell the feeling was mutual. If she had a change of wardrobe, she could possibly pass off as a doll. As it was, she was...well...not.

"Perhaps you should do the same." he replied, his eyes narrowed in distaste. The girl eyed him—a sensation he was all too familiar with—and he wanted nothing more than to turn around and leave the stage. Fortunately for him, that was when Mai decided to turn and look at what her boyfriend was doing.

Noticing the looks they were giving each other, especially from the girl, Mai flicked her gaze between both of them before slowly stepping in front of Oliver to get the girl's attention.

"Umm...can we help you?" she asked warily, wondering why some strange girl just suddenly appeared. Instead of answering, the girl simply turned and walked off. Mai and Oliver watched as she made her way to a blonde haired man—probably their age. Mai frowned and turned around to face Oliver.

"What was that all about?"

The man shrugged. "Nothing."

Mai sighed, knowing he wouldn't tell her anything else besides that. Instead of responding, she took a few moments to look around, much like Oliver did just a while ago.

"There's a lot of people here..." she mused. She noticed a couple of other girls that had hair like she did, talking politely in a corner. One had longer brown hair and the other had a timid smile. "They might have the lines I need... I'm gonna go ask."

"Mai, wait." she heard her boyfriend call after her, but she ignored him and continued walking to the two girls. He'd be okay by himself for a few minutes.

Oliver sighed. That girl would never listen to him, not in a million years.

"You're here for the main role, right?" a voice to the side asked of him. Oliver turned to see that boy that looked similar to him holding out a few sheets of paper in his direction. The boy seemed all right if it were not for those creepy eyes of his.

Oliver gave a curt nod. "Yes, and I'm assuming you are as well?"

The boy gave a disarming smile as he handed Oliver the lines. "Yeah, though I'm not sure I can be quite as demanding as the script would want..."

Silently, with a brow slightly raised, Oliver took the papers from the man and looked through them to see what he was talking about exactly.

"Cold and calculating, but still gentle in the night," a new voice mused. Oliver and the boy with the funny eyes turned to see another lookalike standing by a shadow. This boy had deep-set eyes and a scowl on his face, but somehow did not seem to be a bad person. "Looks like I'd have to do some reverse work if I got the role... I'm Hei, by the way."

"Oliver." he shortly introduced himself. Hei gave a sign of acknowledgement before looking at the other boy.

"What about you?"

"I'm Ryuuji," the boy greeted with a look of friendliness. "Either of you been practicing the lines or flying blind?"

"I haven't. Yet." Oliver said, skimming through the lines a bit. "Thanks for this, by the way. I hadn't looked at it."

"No problem," Ryuuji waved off. It was then that Hei was shoved forward by some mysterious force.

"Noll! Guess what! Those girls over there are auditioning for the main part too, and they were nice enough to give me the lin—Eh?" Mai cut off when the man in front of her turned around with a deep frown and saw that it wasn't her boyfriend. She backed up and began sputtering apologizes with an embarrassed blush.

"Honestly, one would _think_ you would be able to recognize my face by now," Oliver sighed. Mai turned to him with an angry scowl and pointed a rolled up script at his face.

"In case you didn't notice, _Oliver_, I wasn't exactly looking at his face," she fumed.

"Are you not even going to apologize?" her boyfriend questioned. Her eyes widened, realizing that she hadn't, and twirled around to face Hei.

"I'm so sorry! I mistook him for you from the back..."

"It's fine," Hei said before turning to his script. Mai blinked at the quick reaction.

"Okaaay, then." she mumbled herself before once again turning back to Oliver. She stood by his side and then began to read through her lines, zoning out from everyone else. Oliver took that time to read into his script as well. After all, it would not do to be unprepared, now would it?

* * *

"You'll have to be a priest," a certain girl with short black hair noted, looking over at her own boyfriend. He lifted his biking helmet to reveal blue eyes and a mop of curly blonde hair. Not what one would typically expect of a biker, but they came in all shapes and sizes and colors.

"And you'd have to wear a kimono all the time," he returned, looking down at a script. "You sure you want to do this?"

"It'll launch my career and give you something to do since you're so bored all the time," the girl returned with a snarky smirk. The boy gave a devious smile in return that made her go beet red.

"Alright then, let's get to it then." the blonde boy jerked his head towards stage 3.

"Fine by me, John," the girl replied easily, looping her arm through his. The couple strode into the room where the auditions were taking place, confidence radiating off the black-haired girl even more so than the man beside her.

"Whaddya mean the blonde's a _priest_?!" a voice shouted out angrily. The couple turned to find an angry blonde haired boy with a red coat. His hair was in a braid and his face was angry. "No one told me this was a friggin' _religious_ show! I'm outta here!"

"Mr. Elric!" one of the staff called out as the boy stomped away. John gave a low whistle.

"Nice show..."

The girl gave a sardonic laugh as she watched the man, by the name of 'Elric', leave. "Shouldn't he have made sure of the character he was auditioning for before coming?" she muttered critically. "What a loser..."

"No fair picking on the less observant, Masako," John chided, though he himself had a grin on his face at the display. Masako feigned a pout at her boyfriend before dropping it and smirking.

"Well, now perhaps you won't have any competition."

"Looks like I do..." John said, an eyebrow raised. Upon a curious look, he directed his girlfriend's gaze to a hyperactive blonde child who was eating a plate filled with cake. How he got the cake into the studio, no one cared to venture a guess.

"A child?" Masako questioned in disbelief, looking back to John. "How is a _child_ suppose to be a priest?"

"He looks a lot more innocent than me. He might get the part," John shrugged as he watched the competition. He had been carrying around a bunny. "Then again...seems like he would be in more of a children's show..."

"I need more cake!" they both heard the child shout out. John's brows shot up when he saw the cake that had been on the plate was completely gone.

"That was...impressive..." the biker begrudingly admitted. Deciding to ignore his competition for the moment, he turned to Masako. "Did you have any trouble finding the studio?"

"Nope," she replied, popping the "p". "Though there was _one_ rude guy who didn't apologize to me."

Expression turning dark, John narrowed his blue eyes at her words. How dare someone mistreat his girlfriend!

"Who?" he demanded. Masako smiled as she watched her boyfriend turn protective about her. His streak of defense was one of the things she loved about him.

"I think he was one of the guys going for the main role."

John gave a nod before cracking his knuckles harshly. There was nothing more that he hated than someone messing with Masako. "Should I pay him back for what he did?" he asked.

"Not today," she said, easily placing her head on his shoulder. Her expression was bored, but the contact still sent shudders down her spine. "Remember that the paparazzi are everywhere, and we don't want to have to cover up another fight..."

The blonde-haired boy let out an annoyed breath and scoffed at not being able to put this stranger into his place but nevertheless complied to her wishes. "Alright, babe..." he said, slinging an arm around her shoulders, causing her to blush. "Let's go find the directors of this show."

"Yes, let's," she said, trying to suppress her blush. John smirked at her attempts and Masako whacked him upside the chest. They walked together to find the directors.

* * *

The light brown-haired man sighed in slight frustration as he tugged his sister along. The woman seemed to get more reluctant to walk as they arrived closer to the place where the auditions were being held. Honestly. _She_ was the one who wanted to come and try out for this new show, and now she was having second thoughts about it. However, being the good, older brother he was, he wasn't going to let her back out so easily. He came to give her moral support after all.

"Come on, Ayako! You made it this far; you're not going to turn back now!" he said, trying to pull the struggling woman harder.

"Hoshou..." she complained. "My hair isn't right and I don't know if I can do it, and..."

"You're going to be wearing a wig anyways, remember?" he responded, pulling her further into the studio. He was _not_ going to listen to her complain for another six months because she had chickened out of _another_ audition. "You'll be fine, I promise!"

"B-but what if I can't do with all of those peop—"

"No more buts!" Hoshou stated firmly, dragging his sister into an elevator. Ayako finally fell silent as the elevator doors shut. In her hands was clentched a script from which she could read. Her blonde hair—cut rather short to the side of her head—seemed to be the only thing about her that screamed confidence. Hoshou sighed. He had always been studious, she had always been shy. She was the one with grandoise dreams, while he was content to let the days pass him by. However, if there was one thing he would never let go by, it would be his sister's chance at happiness. He would help her through this no matter what.

"Ayako, you're going to do great." he added, sensing that she still felt uneasy. She looked at him for a moment, only to quickly shift her gaze to the floor a second later. It was odd considering how shy she was, but yet she wanted to be an actress. Though, if this is what she wanted to do, then she should go for it. "Just remember how the character you're auditioning as acts. _Be her_. It'll give you more confidence."

"But what if..."

"Just _be her_. I'll go with you if you want," he offered. Ayako's eyes widened as she turned to her brother. "I know there isn't a role there, but I'll act across from you if you need it."

"Thank you!" Ayako cried out as she hugged her brother. "You're the best ever!"

Hoshou let out a chuckle as he placed his hands on her shoulders. A few moments later the elevator doors opened back up, and Ayako released him, taking a deep breath. Hoshou patted his sister's shoulder and allowed her to take the lead. This was, after all, _her_ dream. She made him proud by boldly walking out of the elevator and striding towards stage 3. Now he just hoped she'd keep up the confidence while saying her lines in front of everyone.

"Hey!" a red haired woman called, her hair jutting straight to the back. "The only blonde role is for a priest, and you sure don't look the part. You in the right spot?"

Ayako's eyes widened, instantly becoming nervous again. She began to stutter as she stared at the woman who felt like was glaring at her.

"Ye-yes, I am..." she said timidly. Hoshou placed a hand on her shoulder supportively, silently reminding her to be confident and not to let some lady knock her down. With her brother at her back, she felt herself straighten up. She reached inside her purse and pulled out a cherry-red wig. She flipped it over her head with ease and tucked the blonde securely away. She smirked. "And you?"

The woman scowled. "What about me, you little twerp?!"

Ayako's flinch was barely noticeable. She continued her banter, pretending to keep her wits about her. "Nothing, I'm just not sure a _child_ would be able to capture this role very well."

"Humph! Better me than some old lady with a _wig_!" the other girl sneered. Hoshou instincitvely backed up.

"What did you call me?" Ayako nearly growled. The other girl, not taking the hint, repeated herself with flair.

"O-ld!" she grinned. So cocky was she that she did not notice Ayako fling her bag around and make one hundred percent accuracy with her head until it was too late. The woman whined. "What was that for?!"

"Don't call me old, you brat!" Ayako shouted. Hoshou laughed sheepishly behind his sister. She may always be shy and quiet, but call her old, and you will rue the day. It amazed him how her personality always changed so fast when someone calls her that.

"How _dare_ you!" the girl screeched. "My name is Jessie and you had better prepare for trouble, because you asked for it!"

"Bring it, you old _hag_! I can't wait to see the look on your face when _I_ get the part!"

Hoshou wisely stood to the side as his sister and this Jessie girl got into it. They pulled at hair and clawed each other's arms, but the man knew when it was time to step in. It was time to step in when Ayako started _biting_.

"Hoshou!" she cried out as her brother jerked her away. It was then that the man noticed another man pulling Jessie away. A man with..blue hair? "What's the big deal?!"

"The big deal is that the director told the cameras to film this fight since it's been going on for ten minutes already," her brother responded, pointing over to the cameras. Ayako's eyes widened and she jerked her head to the side, embarrassed at having such a fight recorded.

"Oh, no..." she then buried her head in her hands in horror. How could she do such a thing? To be honest she didn't really know what she was doing before she reacted. It just...happened. "What if they don't give me the part because of this?!"

To her surprise and utter horror, her brother merely laughed away her concerns. "If anything, they might be trying to decide who looked more lady-like while fighting to determine who gets the part. The rest of the competition walked out already."

Ayako's head shot up, and she looked at Hoshou in shock. "Wha... A-Are you serious? Why?"

"Only two women with the ability to fight like that have the confidence to fight like that," her brother replied. "All that's left is the actual screen test and then they'll make their decision."

"Yes...but they might choose _her_..."

"But they might choose _you_."

"But..."

"Sis!" Hoshou exclaimed as he placed his hands on her shoulder. "What did I say earlier? No more buts! What happened to that confident, fiery girl a few minutes ago who wanted to chew some other girl's head off?!"

"You know I'm not like that all the time, geez!" Ayako hissed, exasperated. Her brother sighed, removing his hands from her.

"Perhaps. But that personality _is_ somewhere inside of you. You just have to find it and let it out."

Ayako exhaled sharply and looked away from her brother. He could not—

"Jessie, thank you for your time, but we feel that your talents may not be particularly suited towards this show," a voice called out. Ayako's eyes popped. No way...

"What?!" she heard the woman, Jessie, screech in anger. "How dare—you'll regret this!" The director seemed to choose not to grace her with a response. Jessie began to storm out of the studio, but not before yanking off Ayako's wig in anger. "Let's see how you get the part without this piece of trash!" the woman yelled, foolishly thinking someone wouldn't get the role if you didn't have red hair. A flood of anger ran through Hoshou at what Jessie had done. This woman was going too far, he thought.

"Now just a minute—!" he began, taking a threatening step towards her, but he stopped when his sister held out an arm in front of him.

"I suppose you think that acting like a two-year-old brat will help your cause?" Ayako asked, her eyes taking a dangerous glint. "You can't get everything you want through whining, and you _can't_ scare me through petty means. Besides, I'm pretty sure that if they want to, the directors can get me another wig."

Embarrassed and enraged, Jessie began to tear out at Ayako. Before the woman could jump backwards in surprise, Hoshou stood between the two women, having enough.

"I will not have you hurting my sister in any shape or form." he warned, glaring at Jessie. "The reason why you didn't get the role has nothing to do with Ayako, but of your own skills, no matter how amateur or professional they may be. You have no business here any more, so _leave_."

Jessie sized up the blonde man before deciding such a man would be foolish to take on in a direct manner. Annoyed, embarrassed, and flustered, she did nothing more than fling Ayako's wig into his face and stomp out of the door, growling the entire way. Once the competition was gone, Hoshou heard a _thud_ behind him. He turned to see Ayako sitting on her knees with her feet to the side. He sighed.

"You did good, Ayako," he assured his shaking sister, handing back her wig. The blonde woman said nothing, only looked up at her brother and gave a small nod.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another section of the building, yet another couple of people strode through the front doors. A tall man walked in with his wife. The pink-haired woman smiled excitedly as she looked around and also at the other people walking passed them.

"Madoka, people will think _you're_ auditioning with how excited you are," Lin smirked. His wife gave him a gentle whack on the arm in response. The two laughed.

"Well, _one_ of us has to be excited for you." she replied.

"I'm just not sure how well I'll do. This character doesn't move, talk, or anything. Just sits in front of one of those boring computers the entire episode," Lin admitted, looking over his script again.

Madoka gave a sympathic look to her husband. "Yeah...that may be a problem since you can't sit still for too long."

Lin sighed and then straightened his shoulders. He actually _was_ excited to try for a role like this, given that it was in an anime about hunting ghosts, he just did not want to sit in a desk all day when he could be playing basketball.

Madoka nudged his arm, seeing the look on his face. "I'm sure it'll be okay, just give it a shot." she encouraged.

"I suppose," he said, then turned to his wife with a smile. "Play you one-on-one after this is over?"

"You bet." the woman grinned. Shifting her gaze away from him, she realized they were finally in front of stage 3. "This is the place, right?" she nodded towards the closed door.

"Looks like it," Lin responded. He squeezed Madoka's hand before walking into the studio, surprised to see so many people already present.

"We're not...late, are we?" Madoka frowned, gazing at the people around them.

"I don't believe so..." Lin said slowly, taking note of another tall figure that looked similar to his own stature and the stature required of the part. "It seems as though a lot of people have already divided themselves into the parts they want..."

Madoka wrinkled up her nose in distaste as she looked at the groups that her husband mentioned. "Why does it suddenly feel like I'm back in high school again?"

"Cliques." he answered her simply. She smirked at him. "Sarcastic snot."

"Oh, give me a break, Koujo." she grinned, still scanning the area. She did a double take, however, when she saw a man who looked almost exactly like her husband. "Hey...that man looks just like you..." she whispered to him. Lin followed her finger and his visible eyebrow rose in surprise. Indeed, the man could have been his long-lost twin. Madoka gave a low whistle. "Too bad that the part you guys are trying out for isn't of the twins... That would have been all too perfect."

Lin only hummed his acknowledgement that he had heard her as he continued staring at the man. It was a little creepy seeing someone, who wasn't related to you, look like you. Therefore, it was not much of a surprise when Madoka was the one who had to pull him to the other man. In her mind, perhaps the directors had already split people up in accordance to the roles they wanted.

"Hi!" his wife exclaimed to the man with a wave. The man turned his head and nodded at the pair.

"Hello."

"We couldn't help but notice you look a lot like my husband here." Madoka blurted friendly as she gestured towards Lin. The other man gave a small nod.

"Yes, I would assume we're going for the same parts. Shame the character isn't more of a doctor, though..."

The pinkette blinked at the man and glanced at her husband for a brief moment. "Are you a doctor?" she asked.

The man smiled. "I like to think so. I didn't spend eight years in college to not be one."

"And you're an actor now..." Madoka gave a slow nod, processing the small amount of information she received. It seemed weird someone would go to college for that long to be a doctor, but then end up here, at an audition for a TV show.

"In between jobs. It's not uncommon to freelance these sort of things," the man returned.

"Ah, right, of course." Madoka reassured him before he could take anything she said in offense. "My name is Madoka Lin, by the way." she smiled, introducing herself.

"Hatori Sohma," the man introduced himself.

"Oh, and this is my husband Koujo." she added when Lin failed to say anything. Hatori extended a hand for Lin to shake, which he did after mild prompting. The handshake was firm and brief.

"Have you meet anyone else auditioning for this part as well?" Lin questioned the man.

Hatori shook his head. "As far as I know, we're the only two going for this part."

Madoka blinked in surprise and gave a quick glance to the tall Chinese man beside her. "Really? You'd think they would be more people..."

"I told you, Madoka." Lin said quietly to his wife so that Hatori couldn't hear. "No one wants to sit behind a computer all day and never say anything." Madoka stuck her tongue out at her husband's observation. He merely offered a smirk in response.

"I wonder when the audition will start..." Madoka mused after a few minutes, frowning. Lin looked around, observing a girl with red stuck-out hair stomping her way out of the studio. The remaining woman—a girl with blonde cropped hair and a red wig—seemed to be smiling with a man who had short blonde hair. The directors moved from that group to another.

"I think they already have..."

"Ah!" Madoka's eyes widened, following his gaze. The directors were only a couple of groups away from them. "You better hurry up and read over your lines to make sure you don't forget them!"

Although Lin wanted to remind his wife that this character said practically _nothing_ and merely sat a computer all day, he decided to humor her and read the script. After all, it would be bad if he came to this unprepared.


	2. Chapter 2: The Auditions!

**Naruisawesome: Ne, ne, Amy-chan, are you as happy as I am~!**

**AmyNChan: Yup~! *^_^* It's great that everyone seemed to like the first chapter.**

**Naruiawesome: Thanks for all the reviews everyone!**

**AmyNChan: They mean a lot! **

**Disclaimer: Neither of us own Ghost Hunt, and we won't say it again! ^_^**

* * *

As Mai heard her name being called, she instantly felt her stomach do flips for the first time that day. She gripped on to Oliver's hand, giving it a harsh squeeze. She couldn't do this; she'd mess up like always. What on earth had possessed her to make her think she could?!

She felt slightly better when Oliver squeezed her hand in return. She turned to her boyfriend, her eyes wide. "I—"

"The only words that better come out of your mouth right now is 'I can do this'." he told her, giving a small, teasing smirk. "Because you can. And I didn't come here with you to do this only for you to back out this."

Mai scowled at having been found out, but was internally grateful. Oliver knew her so well. She poked him in the side. "And you better be acting opposite me. I don't wanna have to pretend I'm in love with someone else, got it?"

Her boyfriend gave a small smile, nodding. "I wouldn't have it any other way." he replied, making Mai smile in return. She squeezed Oliver's hand once more for reassurance when she heard her name being called again and then stood. She made her way to a line of three girls. One was a brunette with a kind smile and long brown hair. The other was dressed in jeans and a slightly girlish shirt, had short brown hair, and large honey-colored eyes. Mai smiled to them all. The kinder one—Tohru, she remembered from their conversation earlier—smiled back. Haruhi—also a name she had gathered from when she had gotten her lines from them—merely nodded her head with a soft smile.

"Good luck, guys." she told them, her kind nature overpowering the side of her that hoped to get the part instead of the other girls.

"You, too," Tohru returned with a smile. Haruhi shook her head with a smile. Honestly, did these girls not know the meaning of _competition_?

The two directors called out Haruhi's name for her to go first. The other girls gave her encouraging smiles. Haruhi offered them a smile in return before whisking herself away to try to meet the directors demands. She practiced falling, said a few lines which Tohru and Mai could not hear from their distance, and made some very weird face. The directors talked to her and sent her back to the girls.

"Umm... How did it go?" Mai asked uncertainly. Haruhi shrugged.

"Pretty good until the last bit, I guess. Evidently, I don't do lovesick very well. I'm too practical."

"Aww, I'm sorry." Tohru said apologetically.

"Better luck next time, huh?" Mai smiled reassuringly at her.

"Yeah," Haruhi smiled. "There's another script I've been looking at, so I'm gonna try there next."

"Good luck," Tohru wished as the girl left with a wave. As soon as Haruhi was gone, the directors called out Tohru's name for her to come next. Tohru offered Mai a kind smile before walking to the same spot Haruhi had occupied moments before. She, too, practiced falling. However, at the lines, Mai could tell that the girl was having trouble. She made weird faces and looked close to crying. Mai began to sweat for the girl and was disheartened when she was sent away more quickly than Haruhi. The brown-haired girl walked back to Mai with her shoulders slumped and her head hanging down a bit in disappointment—at herself. "I didn't do it right..."

Mai couldn't find anything to say. The girl seemed so upset. She gave her a hug. "There's always next time," she tried. Tohru smiled weakly as she sniffed.

"Thank you," she said before departing. She jutted back in the door in order to say "Good luck" and left again.

_And then there was one..._ Mai thought as she heard her name being called. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, though it didn't help much. Seeing as how she didn't have Oliver's hand to crush at the moment, she clutched her own hand with the other one as she stood and made her way to the directors.

"H-hi," Mai blurted, attempting to at least remain friendly. The directors smiled in return.

"Good afternoon, Miss Taniyama," the elder of the two directors said with a smile.

"Hi!" the younger director of the two exclaimed. She smiled at Mai softly. "Don't worry, no need to be nervous. Just try and do your best."

"O-okay..." Mai said with a soft smile. These two directors seemed...wacky...to her.

"All right, we want you to fall for us," the first instructed. Her bespectacled eyes were looking at a clipboard in front of her. "This character does quite a bit of it, and we need to make sure you can fall safely without twisting or spraining anything."

Mai looked between the two with a small amount of skepticism. She looked around her then back at the directors. "Just...fall?" she asked uncertainly.

"Well, if you could look scared while you do it, that would be great," the first one said, a finger tapping her chin in a thoughtful manner.

"Ooh, yeah! Especially since she'll be getting attacked a lot by the ghosts!" the second director nodded in agreement. She motioned for Mai, who was just staring at them weirdly, to go ahead and do as they said. Deciding that complying would be better than standing there and letting the directors rant—which they looked halfway ready to do anyways—she allowed herself to crumple to the floor, her face twisted in what she hoped was an expression of sheer terror. She landed on the pad painlessly and heaved a sigh of relief when the directors applauded her performance. "That was great! Best one we've seen, right?" the second one asked, grinning, as she nudged the other director.

"Absolutely," the first smiled. She looked down at her list at the next thing she wanted Mai to try. "All right, I want you to argue with one of us. We will choose a subject you oppose and we want you to battle it with all of your willpower. Got it?"

"Okay!" Mai agreed. She felt more confident about this one, seeing as how she has those kind of arguments with Oliver all the time. The first director looked her dead in the eye and thought for a moment. Mai waited anxiously, but set her mouth into a firm line, preparing herself for a debate.

"Your hair needs to be dyed pink with a blue streak up the sides, like a cotton candy skunk or something," she stated blandly, though humor could be seen behind her bespectacled eyes. She turned to the second director. "Don't you think so?"

"Oh, definitely. Maybe add some glitter in there too?" she laughed jokingly. "Of course she'll have to have the right makeup to go along with her hair as well. Hot pink eyeshadow and blue lipstick?" she turned her head towards the woman beside her, resting her chin in the palm of her hand, with an innocent smile. "You think, Amy?"

"My thoughts exactly, Nia," the first director—now dubbed 'Amy'—said, a smile threatening to overtake her features. Mai turned red and indignant.

"Excuse me, but your ad says that you wanted _brown hair_! There's _no way_ I'm dying it!" she told them with an air of anger. Amy waved off her concerns.

"It wouldn't be _that_ bad..." she trailed off.

"Right." Nia, the second director, replied. "You're going to be playing a teenaged girl with no parents after all, so there wouldn't be anyone to tell you what to do." she shrugged.

"No, I'm a teenage girl who appears totally normal at first. No one's gonna see it coming when I don't have parents," Mai debated. "Besides, isn't it the point that she's normal? Who wants to watch an anime with a girl who has pink hair and blue streaks?"

Both directors stared at her, studying her carefully, before Nia looked at Amy with an amused glint in her eyes.

"What do you think?" she asked, jerking her head in Mai's direction.

"Seems legit," Amy chuckled as she wrote a check mark on a board. "Miss Taniyama, if you have a boyfriend, I'd like you to think about him right now."

Mai couldn't help but immediately smile as she had said the word boyfriend. Her mind, of course, went straight to Oliver.

While Mai went into her own little dream realm about Oliver, several emotions passed her face. A lovesick smile, a random twitch of the eyebrow at one memory in particular, a sigh that seemed a mix between happy and exasperated. Amy smirked. This was all to perfect. She looked at Nia to see what she thought.

Sensing that her friend was looking at her, she glanced at Amy with a big smile. "She's _perfect_." she whispered to her, nodding.

"As long as we can get the perfect actor to act opposite her, then there's gonna be no problem," Amy returned with a slight smirk. She knew they would most likely get the right person. After all, no one had really come to this shibang alone. "By the way, I forgot to mention it earlier, but nice job deciding that the actors get to keep their names in the anime. It's gonna add a lot to what the actors bring to the character."

Nia smiled. "Thanks. I think so, too." she turned her gaze back to the brunette to find her still off in her own little world, most definitely still thinking of her boyfriend. After all, no one could pull off that look without having someone they loved dearly. "Miss Taniyama!" she exclaimed loudly, trying to snap Mai out of her day dream. The girl jumped to attention, startled out of her daydreaming. A deep blush covered her face and she scowled.

"Give a girl some warning next time..."

Nia smirked, shaking her head to herself, before speaking. "Congraulations, Miss Taniyama."

Mai blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Nia means you've got the part. You might wanna study your lines for the first episode," Amy clarified with a congratulatory smile. "We have to move to the next group now, so could you please go to join Ayako? She's the blonde over there."

Mai's eyes widened considerably. "I did?! I got the part?!" Her excited smile stretched so wide across her face that it was beginning to hurt. "Oh my gosh, I have to Noll!" she rambled to herself.

"You might wanna hold off on that for a moment," Amy said, looking at her clipboard. "The main role is next."

"Oh...ah, okay..." Mai bit her lip to keep from smiling so much, though it didn't seem to help all that much. "I guess I'll wait until he's finished his audition..." she mumbled, turning and walking into the direction where this Ayako lady was.

Amy smiled as she shook her head. These actors were going to be fun.

* * *

With her arms crossed over her chest, Masako sat, waiting for her turn in auditioning for her role. At the moment her competition, a girl named Miyuki Shiba, was auditioning.

It appeared as though one of the directors in particular were in charge of this audition. The younger one appeared to be directing far better than her elder.

The punk girl clucked her tongue as she watched the other girl swoon at nothing with a lovesick expression on her face. She could only guess that, that was part of the audition. Just how was _she_ suppose to _swoon_ though?

She watched with a careful eye, observing everything. The other girl's form was good, though not particularly dainty, which is what the role called for. Masako reached up and took out her earrings. It would not do well to have spikes in her ears before this.

With a small huff, she reached up and grabbed a small portion of her hair with her thumb and forefinger, looking at the red strands of hair. She frowned. Perhaps she should prepared more to look the role. Thinking quickly, she flipped the red streak under a portion of her black hair. It was not as noticeable now, but if she got the part she would definitely have to dye it back to its normal shade. The things she was giving up for this—

"Miss Hara?" one of the directors called. Masako twitched. She hated it when people called her that.

"Yes?" she tried to ask politely. It would do no good to be rude to the director who decided the fate of the new role of your career.

"You can come now, you're next." the woman told her, motioning for Masako to follow her. Masako rose and walked with the grace of a swan. If there was anything she had picked up from her mother, it was how to act like a lady. She approached the two directors and kept her face somewhat passive and mildly interested.

"How do you do?" she asked, just as she remembered being taught. The two directors shared a look.

"Just fine, thank you." Nia said, giving a small smile as she studied the girl. The way she was dressed certainly didn't match her personality at the moment.

"Miss Hara, are you aware that this is part is of a celebrity whose claim to fame is her ability to see spirits and her doll-like appearance?" Amy asked. Not to be rude, but actors should generally come prepared to look like the character. No barely hidden red streak of hair, no skinny jeans, no mesh shirt, no overly done rock makeup. While the outfit did look good on her, it was not the appearance they were going for.

"Please excuse me, I was unable to ask for a kimono. Rest assured I can appear as necessary," Masako responded smoothly, somehow able to keep her temper and sharp tongue in check. This demure attitude was the only thing going for her at the moment.

The directors shared another glance between each other before giving a nod. They then looked down at the papers that were in front of them before shifting their gazes back to Masako, who was desperately trying to be patient.

"How do you show off to another girl that you've got the guy she secretly wants?" Amy inquired, raising an eyebrow. To her, it was obvious that she had to at least pretend to act like a lady while she did it. The question caught Masako off guard for a moment before she immediately composed herself a moment later.

"Well..." she began carefully, trying to get inside the mind of a young lady and how she would act in such a situation. "I would probably try to be overly formal with the man in front her, trying to make sure his attention would always be on me instead of her. Ah, but without him noticing of course. Just enough for it to be visible to her, discreetly bragging about it, but not for anyone else to see."

Amy nodded slightly. The girl knew her stuff, but could she act it out. Amy smirked. Perhaps a small test was in order...?

"Could you demonstrate for us?" Nia asked, thinking along the same lines as the woman beside her.

Masako blinked. She should have expected this, but she didn't. Hmmm... She looked around for a suitable male to test on. She walked over to John, who happened to be nearby, and silently decided that she would flaunt before _both_ directors instead of one.

"Masako, what are you doing?" John whispered to her in confusion, furrowing his brows.

"Go with it," she whispered, flicking her eyes back to the directors. Thankfully, John did not say anything more and allowed the girl to do as she pleased.

"And who is this?" Nia questioned, her expression blank.

"A _very_ close acquaintance of mine, John Brown. John, these are the directors," Masako said. As she talked, she shifted slightly closer to him and glanced at the girls to fish for reactions. The blonde boy tilted his head up in a greeting, still oblivious as to what his girlfriend truly needed him for.

"Pleasure," Amy said, observing the boy. He looked so oblivious right now. She tucked the information away for later when they ran the part of the priest. "Have you known each other long?"

"Oh, yes," Masako stated before John could get a word in. She covered her mouth to hide a giggle that threatened to overtake her. She never knew her boyfriend could look so childlike and adorable. He could probably get the part of the priest after all! "Several years ago he helped me out in a spot of trouble and we have been close ever since."

To emphasize, she turned her shoulder into his arm gently. John rose an eyebrow in confusion but said nothing at her odd display.

"I see..." Nia muttered, glancing at Amy for her silent opinions. Surely if Masako continued to do this with a man that another girl liked, or loved, it would be a huge success for the show. Amy nodded in the direction of her friend. This girl would go through a screen test to make sure she could look the part adequately, and then it would be decided if she actually got the part or not.

"Miss Hara, please wait over by Miss Takigawa, Miss Taniyama, and Mr. Davis. We will call you forward later for a screen test," Amy said, jotting her notes on her clipboard.

The black-haired girl stepped away from her boyfriend and gave a nod. "Certainly. Thank you." she agreed before walking into the direction of the other two woman, a blonde and a brunette, without saying so much as a word to the still puzzled John.

Amy looked from the new addition to the blonde boy who appeared so lost. Her lips twitched into a small smirk. Oh yes, he would be a great candidate for the part.

"Should we just go ahead and do his audition since he's here?" Nia whispered, leaning over towards Amy. Amy nodded silently. She looked around to find one other blonde boy. She gave a whistle and when she had his attention she beckoned him over. The young boy smiled happily and trotted over, a stuffed rabbit in tow.

"Is it my turn now?" he asked with an adorable smile. An "awwww" immediately came from Nia as a result.

"Yes, it is," Amy said, barely able to repress her inner squeal. She cleared her throat in an attempt to gain composure. "You both came to audition for the part of the priest, correct?"

"Yup! Along with Usa-chan!" the young boy laughed cutely as he held up his stuffed bunny for the directors to see. Amy smiled sadly, looking at the rabbit. It was far, far, far too pink for her liking. She cleared her throat.

"Mr. Haninozuka, you are aware that this character does not carry a rabbit, are you not?" she asked. Lowering down his most precious thing, Honey pouted as he stared at Amy.

"But Usa-chan has to do it!"

"Sorry, but priests do not carry stuffed animals around. They more often give them to the less fortunate. Others who can use them far better than themselves," Amy pointed out. Honey's pout strengthened in power, but the director was firm in her decision. No stuffed animals. Especially—even though she would not admit it aloud to anyone except perhaps Nia—pink ones.

"Aha, I'm sorry, Hon—Mr. Haninozuka." Nia started, almost slipping up on his name. He was just so child-like that it almost seemed wrong to be so formal with the boy. "Amy's right though..." she smiled sympathically. The boy was just too cute!

Instantly, the boys eyes began to water. His pout took on a form of complete and utter devastation. "Buh-But Uso-chan..."

"No buts, Mr. Haninozuka. If you would like to act along Mr. Uso, then you'll probably have to find a different show," Amy stated, her determination being the only thing stopping her from dropping everything and hugging that cute boy and telling him everything would be all right.

As his tears began to spill over, Honey clutched his bunny tighter before taking off in the opposite direction of the others. As he ran out of the door, Amy gave a shudder. She had been so close to crumbling, but one look at the pink stuffed animal had kept her firm. She took a few deep breaths to regain her strength.

Nia looked at John and smiled. "Good news, Mr. Brown!" she exclaimed, making the biker even more confusion and looking adorable as well.

"What she means is you've got the part by default. Would you be so kind as to join the others in that corner over there?" Amy asked, gesturing to the growing group of actors. Dumbfounded, the blonde gave a small nod.

"Uh...sure..." he mumbled before turning around and walking to where his girlfriend and the others were.

Amy looked over to her friend with a grin. "Hey, Nia, I wanna ask you something."

Nia grinned back, knowing her friend had something up her sleeve. She always loved it when she did. "Yeah? What is it?"

"You remember, back in the script, when you said it was missing something?" she asked, remembering the day. It was when the girls had decided to do this anime and run it for themselves.

"Yeah...it still bugs me..." Nia replied, frowning at the frustration she felt at not being able to figure it out.

"We need someone to play as 'big brother' to the main character! Someone who's older, but fun. Someone kinda whacky who can take care of rooms and whatnot. Leave people to the priest and have this new guy do rooms and objects and stuff," Amy said, waiving her arms in gesture as she usually did when she got an idea. Nia's eyes immediately lit up.

"That's a great idea!" she nodded in approval. "Although...who would we get?"

"I was actually thinking of Miss Takigawa's older brother. Did you see, in the fight, when she had him to back her up she was at least ten times as fiery as the other girl?" Amy asked as they walked.

"Hmm... Yeah, he'd be great I believe." Nia said, smiling at remembering the fight that Jessie girl and Miss Takigawa had. Oh, how she wished she would had had some popcorn at that time. However, a few moments later, she frowned. "But he might not even want to. There's only a small possibility that he would."

"We won't know unless we ask him. Besides, he came with his sister here, didn't he?" Amy pointed out hopefully.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean he wants to be an actor." Nia gave a small laugh as they came upon the next group.

"We'll ask later," Amy said, relenting on the topic for now. She returned her attention to her clipboard. Their last member—for now—was the silent assistant, always at a computer. Of course, he would not get much screen time in the beginning, but he was still a vital role.

"Hello, gentlemen." Nia greeted with a smile.

"Good afternoon," the two men said, each with a slight inclination of their heads. The directors looked from one to the other and then back again.

"You wouldn't happen to be twins...right?" Amy finally asked.

"No," both of the men said at the same time. "I can assure you we're not." they then looked at each other weirdly. The directors could not hold their chuckles in. They looked from one to the other and then back again once more.

"How about stating your names for us so we know which is which, okay?" Nia asked with an amused smile.

"Hatori Sohma," the first introduced.

"Koujo Lin," stated the second.

"Alright then." Nia gave a nod, looking at the two both. "Mr. Sohma, would you please come with us for a moment?" she asked politely. The tall man nodded his head. Upon realizing that he had no intention of talking, the two led him over to an alcove with a computer.

"We're going to test your skills. One of them is typing on a computer and being able to sit still, okay?" Amy asked, list at the ready.

"Alright..." Hatori gave them an odd look, but nevertheless sat down in front of the computer as Amy had asked.

"Start typing at any time," Amy invited, holding her list up so she could make notes. Hatori nodded and began typing. Amy smirked, knowing that the computer would not allow him to backspace and was recording his GWAM, or gross words a minute. That was the second test. Frustration.

Nia smirked as well. "Now let's see how long it'll take him." she whispered to Amy. Oh how fun it was to mess with these people! They waited for no more than an extra fifteen seconds. He stopped typing completely, moved his hand to his head, and then continued to type. Amy scribbled on her notepad.

"One more thing, Mr. Sohma?" she asked. The man paused in his typing and turned his head to look at her.

"What is it?" he questioned.

"Can you whistle?" she asked. The man's eyebrows shot up before he regained composure and shook his head. It was one of the few things he could not do at all. He was trained in hypnosis, was an excellent doctor, and had quite the knack for acting. But he could not whistle or skip.

Don't ask about the latter.

"Hmmm... That'll be a problem then." Nia stated with a frown. Hatori sighed. The one thing he could not do... "I'm sorry, Mr. Sohma." Nia gave him an apologetic smile. "But that is an important thing for this character to do."

The dismissed man nodded. Amy nodded at him as well before scribbling something on a piece of paper and handing it to him. "Try there next, if you want. I overheard you say you were good with being a doctor."

Hatori's eyes widened a bit as he read what was on the paper. Then he shifted his gaze to Amy with a grateful smile. "Thank you very much." he said before walking away from the two directors.

Amy nodded. It was not fair not to get a part simply because you could not whistle, but whistling was vital to this role later on. She turned her attention to Lin. "Mr. Lin, you're up."

The tall man only gave a curt nod as he walked to the two women.

"We're going to test how long you can type and sit still. Would you please take a seat in front of the computer monitor?" Amy asked, once again referring to the computer. Lin stared the machine a few moments before complying. He could do this. All he needed to do was sit _still_ and type. Nothing more, nothing less.

And he typed. He was fairly decent at it as well. Amy kept track of his progress while Nia looked for any signs of distraction or frustration. The man sat in front of that computer for fifteen minutes straight before moving his neck ever-so-slightly and continuing on his way. The directors' eyebrows hit the tops of their hair. This guy was a natural!

"I believe we have found our last—planned—actor." Nia's voice cut through the silence, causing Lin to stop his massive typing and look at her. She grinned at Amy. "Right?" she asked.

"So long as he can whistle," she said, looking at Lin. She gave a gesturing motion in case he wanted to demonstrate.

Two moments later, everyone was recovering from the shrillest whistle they had ever heard. Amy gave an approving grin to her friend, giving her the honors.

"Congratulations, Mr. Lin!" Nia smiled happily. "You've got the part!"

The man seemed to slump over with relief, only to be attacked by a certain pink-haired woman from the back. Amy and Nia looked at each other as the man's wife offered up congratulations.

"Oh, Koujo! You did it, you really did it!" the woman exclaimed with joy.

"It appears I have," the man said, offering up a smile.

* * *

**Naruisawesome: How about those directors, ne? *nudges Amy-chan with a small grin***

**AmyNChan: Lolol, yeah, they are something! XDD**

**Naruisawesome: XD We hope yall liked this chapter like the last one!**

**AmyNChan: Please review~! *^_^***


	3. Chapter 3: Episode 1

Nia and Amy smiled as they watched their picked actors and actresses come on to the set. Each of them was in costume and they looked great. Mai was in a high school uniform, Oliver was wearing a black business suit, Lin's was grey, Masako had a kimono and no piercings, John was in a priest's robes, Ayako had her wig and all the necessities for her character, and Houshou—who had agreed to Amy and Nia's spontaneous request—was dressed in a casual yet somewhat dressy manner.

"First of all," Nia began, starting loudly to gain everyone's attention. "Amy and I would like to congratulate everyone again for making the cut. We believe you all are very talented actors and will make this show very successful."

The team made a few sounds of recognition to Nia's statement before quieting down. Amy then stepped up to give instructions.

"Unlike most other productions which choose to film scenes in accordance with scenes, such as filming all the scenes in a park together or all of the scenes in a building together, we will film in chronological order. Meaning what we film first will be at the beginning of the episode and we will continue on like that until we reach the end. Do you have any questions?"

Everyone silently glanced at each other, waiting to see if someone would speak up first. Amy's eyes raked over everyone present, wondering if anyone would speak. Finally, Houshou slowly raised up his hand, as if he was unsure about something. Amy nodded in the man's direction, indicating he could ask.

"Do you I really have to make fun of, Ayako?" he asked, his expression almost looked painful at the thought as he looked over at his sister. "Because I have enough times of her hitting me off-set when I make fun of her. Trust me when I say it _hurts_."

Amy nodded. "But don't worry, the purse will actually be thickly padded dense material. It will work with gravity in the same way that a real purse would, but when it hits you it shouldn't be as painful as a normal purse. Any other questions?"

"Yes," Masako spoke up. "does my character really have to like _him_ of all people?" her voice was one of animosity as she glanced over at Oliver with a scowl.

"Yes," Amy replied. "It's a part of the character dynamics. But the characters don't get close physically very often. Does that satisfy you?"

Masako said nothing, only crossed her arms and looked away as a reply. Amy tucked the response away in her brain. If this actress caused too much trouble, there were always ways to troll on the actors. She looked to Nia to see if she had the same devious thoughts as she. With a smirk, Nia looked back at Amy and gave her a nod. She was sure there would be plenty of times to mess with the actors. She turned her attention to the people on the stage.

"Is there any more questions?" she asked them. John came forward and raised his hand. Amy nodded for him to speak.

"Do I really have to speak in a Kansai accent? I can't do one all that well and my friends will never let me live it down."

"Yes, Mr. Brown, you do. It comes with the character, and how and where he learned Japanese." Nia gave the young man a small smile. "Besides, it'll be adorable." she mumbled under her breath, only for Amy to hear. Amy did her best to hide her sudden chuckle, and when the characters glanced at her oddly, she attempted to pass it off as a cough. "Alright, is there _any_ more questions?" Nia inquired. Honestly, she really hoped there wasn't; she wanted to hurry up and start already. She couldn't wait!

She was rewarded when none of the cast came forward with any more questions. Everyone was set, the props were in place, costumes and makeup were done, and cameras were ready.

It was showtime.

Nia clapped her hands together happily with a bright smile. "Okay, everyone! Let's get started!"

* * *

_Take One._

"Then, without realizing it...the girl answered...and then," Mai paused dramatically for effect, allowing the extras to take their breaths. She smiled evilly as she continued. "She had the worst period of her life, right in front of the policeman!"

The girls could not help themselves. They burst out laughing at the hilarious impromptu ending of Mai's horrific tale. Amy took a sigh as she tapped her clipboard onto her shoulder. Hopefully they would not be like this all the time.

XxX

Mai switched off her flashlight after she finished her ghost story, successfully giving her 'friends' a fright. Their only source of light was now Michiru's flashlight.

"You're up next, Michiru." Mai said, pointing to the girl with a smile. Michiru looked down briefly.

"Okay... This is a story about a magical, glowing flower that can keep you young forever." She began, causing Mai and Keiko to smile in amusement. "There's a white unicorn, however, who is the guardian over the flower to protect it from evil people who want to use it selfishly, and—"

"Cut!" Nia yelled, standing to her feet. "Michiru! What was _that_? You're suppose to be telling a _ghost_ story!"

"Waah! But ghost stories are scary!" Michiru wailed, clinging to Keiko. Nia sighed in mild irritation.

"Does she even know what show she signed up for?" Masako commented haughtily from behind the directors where the other actors were. Nia couldn't help but agree.

XxX

"One..." Michiru said, looking about with suspicion.

"Two..." Keiko whispered, feigning fright.

"Three..." Mai said determinedly, looking for something to look at. The atmosphere was tense—

"Four," Oliver said. Amy fistpumped silently. This would be a great first take! Now they just needed to flip on the lights and—

"HE CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALL!" The girls screamed out, laughing hysterically. Each of them were doing some sort of odd dance that Amy could not interpret for the life of her and Oliver broke character to chuckle at their foolish actions. Even though Amy laughed as well, she could not help but face palm.

Were these people serious?

XxX

Oliver observed the three girls for a moment with feign interest before taking several steps into the room. "I'm sorry, I didn't expect anyone to be in here. But then I heard your voices and I couldn't help myself."

"Oh, no! It's totally fine!" Keiko exclaimed. Mai glanced at the two girls, seeing blushes on their faces. She immediately recognized them to be real as no one could fake _that_ look. _Of course. Every girl blushes when they look at Noll..._ Mai thought a little sourly.

"So what year are you?" Michuri asked, giggling along with Keiko.

The directors looked at each other and smiled. Maybe they'd finally get through a scene without any interrup—

"I'm a senior this year."

Amy and Nia then immediately facepalmed for the fifth time that day. They had spoken too soon.

XxX

"Eh, senpai, you like ghost stories, too?" Keiko asked, astonished and extremely pleased. Oliver nodded his head.

"Sure," he replied. The resulting squeal that happened next was scripted. Oliver rubbing his ear was not. Amy cut the scene.

"Mr. Davis, you're not supposed to give them a reaction," she admonished him. He turned a frowning glare onto her.

"If you'd like, you can stand two feet away from fangirls who squeal and then pretend it did not bother you in the least," Oliver invited. Amy sighed. Better get this challenge done now and show him he was just being a baby. She switched with Oliver without the cameras rolling and invited the girls to squeal again. They did so.

"Okay..." Amy announced as soon as the ringing in her ears ceased. "Why don't you just try giggling some more, okay?"

In the background, Oliver smirked at the fail of half of their directors. Nia frowned and shook her head.

XxX

"Okay, Kazuya. I have one question. Why are you here?" Mai demanded, her voice bored and laced with suspicion.

"There are some things I have to take of." the man replied, walking passed the girls as he remembered he should. And on cue, Keiko and Michiru followed after him, still giggling like the school girls they were being paid to be.

"Then what are you waiting for?" was the brunette's immediate reply before she began her rant that suspiciously smelled of jealousy. "Or do you just like being surrounded by girls who will give you their full and utter attention? You probably don't even _have_ anything to do, do you? You just come in here to collect more girls for your own personal fan club you have?" she finished, her voice still surprisingly even.

Oliver and the two girls beside him stared at Mai in shock. Then Michiru nudged Keiko with her elbow.

"Was that in the script?" she whispered.

"I don't think so..." Keiko muttered back. Nia shrugged, looking at Amy.

"I say we keep it. I liked it."

Continuously, Amy shook her head while Nia nodded with a smile.

XxX

"This weather is great! I was right to get out early," Mai said through a stuffed nose and runny eyes and—wait a minute.

"Cut!" Amy shouted, leaping onto the set. She approached the actress with _severe_ allergic reactions with a frown. "How is it that you're showing the symptoms for allergies?"

"Maybe because I have an allergic reaction to the cherry blossoms?" Mai asked, waving her hand to the surrounding pink trees. Amy frowned as she walked to the nearest tree and pulled a branch from its place. It came down with ease and she returned to the actress.

"Let me rephrase this: How is it that you're showing the symptoms for allergies when we've got _no real trees inside the building_?" she asked, holding the plastic branch aloft. Mai scowled.

"We can't get anything past you guys, can we?" she grumbled as she walked off the stage to remove the massive amount of makeup that had gone into faking her sickly appearance. Amy heaved a sigh as she returned the faux branch to its place. How long would it take to film one episode?

XxX

Mai walked towards the old-looking building that—supposedly—had the camera inside of it. However, as she peeked through the windows, she found that the camera wasn't in there. Confused, she turned around to face the directors.

"Umm...where's the camera? It isn't in here..." she asked, pointing at the doors. Nia frowned.

"What? It should be." she stood up, deciding to go take a look herself. She got on to the stage, and with Mai, they looked in the windows again. Suddenly Ayako and Houshou jumped up from behind the window, sticking their tongues out and pulling their skin below their eyes down. Nia and Mai jumped back, causing the Takigawa siblings to begin laughing.

"Holy—"

"What the fudge?!" Nia shrieked from being startled the same time as Mai. Amy whipped her head around to look at the other actors, glad to find everyone else was there. How are earth did the Takigawas get passed her and Nia to do that though?

With a sigh, and when she turned back around to face the stage again, Amy unsurprisingly found Nia berating Ayako and Houshou. And quite angrily at that. Maybe now they'll learn their lesson _never_ to scare Nia again.

XxX

"That's what it is all right," Mai said aloud as she looked onto the camera in apparent confusion. "But why would it be in a place like this?"

Mai looked around in confusion before turning her attention back to the camera. She grinned cheekily. "Maybe I'll just check the film on here..."

"Wait, Taniyama-san!" Lin shouted as the girl picked up the camera. Paying no heed to the other man, she opened the camera and watched the film inside. Before the tall man could flee in embarrassment, something could be heard over the speaker of the camera.

_'Man! I feel like a woman! Wai—Madoka! Stop—'_

Mai grinned as she watched the footage of Lin doing karaoke. The man attempted to just go back to his spot, but not before the girl shouted something that made him go pale.

"I told you he used the camera! Amy, you owe me five!" she shouted at the director. The elder blonde grumbled as she withdrew the money from her pocket.

"And just when I thought I had some responsible actors..."

XxX

_Take One._

"We met yesterday, right? What's your name?" Oliver asked Mai, his hand on Lin's arm, supporting the man who had fake blood on his forehead.

"It's, uh...Mai..." the girl answered distractedly, still looking at Lin with concern.

"Well, alright then, Mai. I thought you might want to know you're going to be late for your first class since the morning bell just rang." Oliver told her.

Mai waited for a few moments, letting his words in sink, before sprinting out of the building in a panic. As she ran, she attempted to jump over the bushes, like the script demanded. However she didn't jump far enough and fell to the ground. Before anyone could say or do anything, she—amazingly—hopped right back up.

"I'm okay!" she yelled as she continued to run.

_Take Three._

Once again, Mai ran out of the building for the third time, determined to jump over the bushes this time. But she didn't jump high enough because one of her feet got caught behind the bush while the rest of her body made it to the other side. This time when she fell though, she landed flat on her face. Everyone winced and looked away as she did.

When Oliver didn't hear her jump up and give a verbal reply that she was okay, he came running to his girlfriend's aid. "Mai, are you okay?" he asked, helping her to her feet. The girl gave a pained moan and leaned against him for support.

"I think I might have broken my nose..." she said, pinching her nose together which made her voice come out funny.

XxX

"Mai, you're going home?" Michiru complained. Mai forciby placed a few books into the bag she had been provided. "What about our engagement with Shibuya-senpai?"

"The only one with an engagement with 'Shibuya-senpai' would be me," she stated evenly, making a complete one-eighty from the script. Keiko and Michiru's faces paled when the girl turned her face up to look them in the eye. "Anyone saying otherwise deals with me, got it?"

"Got it, Taniyama-sensei..." the girls whimpered. Mai grinned in victory before she remembered that she had completely botched the lines. Amy and Nia sighed in the background. This girl's jealous streak was going to cost them at least half a day of filming...

XxX

"Ghost stories?!" a bespectacled girl named Kuroda demanded hotly as she walked into the room. "Are you three the reason I've been having such horrible backaches?! Err, wait...that wasn't right! Can I try that again?" she asked nervously. Nia tried her best to be patient and smiled at Kuroda.

"Of course."

Taking a deep breath, Kuroda tried her lines again. "Ghost stories?! Are you three persons why I have... I'm so sorry! I got tongue-tied!"

Lazily, with crossed arms, Nia slid her gaze towards Amy. "This is her first time being on a stage in front of anyone, isn't it?"

"Most likely." Amy answered as Kuroda tried again, and failed, at her lines once more."

XxX

You there," Oliver's voice sounded, perfectly executed. He leaned upon the door frame as the camera turned to get the perfect shot. "If you are spiritually sensitive, then do you sense anything about the old schoolhouse?"

Mai turned evenly, an exasperated expression upon her face as her 'friends' cheered for the return of 'Shibuya-senpai'. Amy and Nia held their breaths as those lines in particular went on without any disturbance. Kuroda walked smoothly from her place to confront the newcomer.

"Are you the one who put these girls up to telling ghost stories?" she asked, somehow making it through her lines as calmly as she could. The mask of controlled anger was absolutely perfect. Amy sighed silently in relief. This was going well!

"Will you please—"

"Director!" the cameraman called out, disrupting this perfect scene. Nia and Amy shot dirty looks at the cameraman. The actors had finally been doing their jobs perfectly! And now? He looked remorseful as he decided to inform the directors of the problem. "Ano, there's no battery pack in here... We have to film the past three scenes all over again..."

The next thing Amy knew, all was black.

XxX

Oliver turned around to leave the classroom, however, he stopped at the threshold. He looked over his shoulder at Mai emotionlessly.

"Oh, and Mai?" he asked, and once he had the girl's attention he continued. "Would you mind coming with me for a moment?"

The brunette grinned happily instead of wearing a depressed expression like she should. She shot a smug look towards Keiko and Michiru before skipping to Oliver. Latching on to his arm, she looked back and stuck her tongue out at the two girls.

Nia threw her hands up into the air, frustrated, and dropped her clipboard in the process. She shook her head as she pressed her fingertips to her forehead. Glancing over at Amy, who was _still_ unconscious—not that she blamed her, she'd like nothing more than to join her, but _someone_ had to direct this show—Nia let out a sigh. Then she turned her gaze to the actors on-set.

"Everyone, take fi—no, ten...while I somehow find a way to wake Amy..." she mumbled the latter part under her breath. "Oh, and Mr. Davis, would you please come see me for a few moments? I need to discuss something with you."

* * *

Amy held a hand to her head. She had blacked out and now she was paying the price. She was very grateful to Nia to allow her time to regroup and refocus. The other director had begun conversation with the lead actor—Mr. Davis—about five minutes ago. Amy figured that while that was happening, she might as well be useful. She stood up and cracked her back, then her neck.

Time to—

"Okay, we're back to filming now!" Nia announced as she returned with Oliver. Amy blinked. That had been quick. Nevertheless, she waited for her co-director to join her on their seats.

"What did you want to talk to Mr. Davis about?" Amy asked curiously as the actors went back to their positions. Amy made sure out of the corner of her eye that there was a battery pack in the camera this time.

Nia sighed. "About Miss Taniyama... She messed up _another_ scene with that jealous streak she has going on. I asked him to try to talk with her about it since he's her boyfriend and all. Maybe she'll listen to him better than us. If she doesn't...well, we'll have to try something different." she answered.

"Or play on it a bit," Amy mused aloud, thinking about it.

"What?" Nia questioned, tilting her head.

"Just an idea. Let's see how Mr. Davis handles it first..." Amy said, smiling. Nia said nothing in reply, only smiled back and gave a nod.

"Alright, everyone!" she called out. "Let's start from where we had left off!"

* * *

"So, um...how's your friend doing?" Mai asked as they walked through the hallway in the school, trying to fill the awkward silence. She waited a few moments for Oliver to say his lines, but they never came. She frowned. "Um, hello?" she asked, still in character. "I know I'm the reason he got hurt, but you could still answer me!"

More silence.

With a sigh, Mai stopped walking, which made Oliver do the same when he heard her footsteps falter. He didn't turn around to face her though.

"You forgot your lines, didn't you?"

"...Yes."

XxX

_Take Three._

"The opposite. He's the assistant and I'm the boss," Oliver stated blandly. Despite the last three takes having ended in Mai in a fit of giggles, this time she looked properly impressed. She took a step backwards as Oliver continued. "Now my assistant can't move. I believe that you have an obligation here."

"J-just a minute!" Mai protested earnestly before the camera. She was about to say her next line when Oliver cut across her.

"The camera is broken, too," he stated. Amy frowned. Although it was too early, she did actually like the line there. She decided to let it run for a bit to see if they would be serious. Mai took another step in horror as Oliver continued. "He was trying to stop you, because you were touching the camera, and this is how it turned out."

Mai hid her face in her hands, looking convincingly scared. "By the way, um... how much was it?"

"Probably more than you have," Oliver said, then shifted to one foot as though somewhat uncomfortable. His face, however, gave nothing away.

"You mean, um..."

"You couldn't reimburse me. Which means there is only one course of action you can take," he said. Amy watched on with a steady glare. So help her if they messed this scene up and said something that wouldn't work—

"But I don't wanna be your chauffeur! I can't even drive!" Mai exclaimed—extremely upset. Amy dropped her head into her hands. Just when she thought they were being professional...

"Mai, I'm supposed to hire you as an _assistant_, not a chauffeur," Oliver sighed. The girl instantly stopped her acted out despair in order to blink repeatedly.

"Eh?"

XxX

"What do you exactly _do_ at your job?" Mai asked skeptically. Oliver stared at her, his expression still blank.

"I hunt leprechauns."

Mai abruptly snorted as a result of trying to keep her laughter in while the other actors laughed as well. Amy sighed yet again in frustration, and Nia banged her head against the table.

Were they ever going to finish the _first_ episode?

XxX

"Asprin, you'll need it if you keep that up," Amy offered to her friend. Once the headache for medication had been transferred, the directors returned their attention to the action. The set quieted down in order to film the next scene.

"Saikiku risachi?" Mai asked, confused.

"Is that a question?" Oliver returned evenly. Mai staggered under an invisible weight of confusion as her boyfriend turned away with indifference as he continued. "Psychic means 'shinrei'. Research means 'chousa'. In other words, Shibuya Psychic Research is a spiritual phenomenon bureau."

Oliver turned dramatically as he was supposed to, but then landed on his rear as he was not. Mai could not contain her bubble of laughter as she jogged over to help her boyfriend. She was not laughing when she herself slipped on the tile and ended up face planting into his chest. Amy sighed.

"Who waxed the floors?" she asked, casting a glare in the direction of the Takigawa siblings. As they protested for their innocence while Amy attempted to tell them the dangers of waxing a busy floorspace, John and Masako gave each other a subtle fist bump.

XxX

"One week ago your principal contacted my company." Oliver began their scene after he opened up the door to the van. He picked up a set of shelves and handed them to Mai, placing them on to her arms. They were a little heavy, but nothing she couldn't handle, Mai silently noted.

"When I checked the records," he then placed a medium-sized box into her arms. With this, it seemed Mai was beginning to struggle with holding both the box and the shelves. "I was able to verify that up until eighteen years ago while the old school house was still being used there would be at least one or two deaths within the structure every year."

Mai's knees and arms began to shake, not being able to have the strength to hold them any longer.

"U-Um, Noll... I can't..." Before she could say another word, or Oliver could turn around to see what was wrong, she dropped the equipment and collapsed to her knees in exhaustion.

Nia frowned upon seeing the contents that spilled out of the box when it was dropped. "Okay, who packed _rocks_ inside the box?!" she glared at the other actors behind her. Lin scoffed, looking away.

"Like they can expect me to do _nothing_ while waiting for my next scenes, which is episodes away?" he mumbled under his breath. His wife only patted his shoulder in sympathy for the man.

XxX

Oliver continued his explanation as they went through the house. Mai carried a—now much lighter!—load in her arms as she followed him. Right now, he was saying something about a nervous breakdown. Mai was not paying attention. These floors were creaky! But they were only a foot off the ground! What if she tripped and fell? What if the floor fell through and she twisted an ankle or something? What if—?

"Miss Taniyama, we would appreciate it if you didn't walk off-set with the props while we are _still filming_," Amy announced, bringing the girl out of her musings. Mai blinked and noted that she had indeed been just about to walk off of the elevated stage. She hopped back in fright. Everyone sighed.

"Really, Mai?" Oliver asked from the doorway they were supposed to have entered together. The girl could do more than offer a nervous chuckle before they tried the scene again.

XxX

As Oliver left the building to gather more equipment, Mai placed the box she was carrying on the table. On cue, she heard a sudden creak and glanced around the room warily, acting startled. Then she heard an odd noise coming from above and gasped in fright. The lights suddenly came on and she cringed, covering her ears with her hands. She heard another creak coming from the doorway and turned towards it as she held her breath in. Then a hand suddenly grabbed the door.

However, instead of seeing her boyfriend coming into the room like she anticipated, John and Masako walked in but stopped when they realized where they were. Mai let out her breath in mild irritation. Just when she doing great and wasn't the one messing up the scenes, someone else had to!

"Ah, wrong way, Masako." John muttered. Nia rubbed her temples, resisting the urge to bang her head on the table again.

"Mr. Brown and Miss Hara, will you two _please_ not wander around backstage while we're filming here?!" she tried to keep her cool, but failed. Miserably.

XxX

"It's amazing that you can use all of this stuff," Mai said as she leaned in closer for a better look at the cameras Oliver had just introduced.

"Of course I can. My brain works differently than yours," Oliver replied easily, looking over the numerous identical black compartments on the shelves. He moved away so the camera could get a look at Mai as she continued with her next line.

"You don't say. Well, you are an office manager, at your age, so you can say that. But why are you exterminating ghosts?" she asked. Her face held the appropriate amount of confusion.

"Because I am sick of the Ghost Buster's theme song constantly being added to my phone," he stated easily. Before either director could interject or face palm, Mai took a defensive step backwards.

"Hey, it was the only way to get you to come to the auditions in the first place..." she stated, pointing a finger at Oliver. He turned a pair of unamused eyes on her.

"Is that so? Perhaps I should change your alarm clock to 'Friday' instead of—"

"Touch my alarm clock and you are so dead, Davis!" Mai threatened, stalking straight up to her boyfriend. As the two continued their banter, Amy and Nia hung their heads. Maybe this was a bad idea...

XxX

_Take One._

"_Amazing._ He's just smart as he is handsome." Mai muttered to herself out loud, almost dreamily. It was true though, which made it easier for her. Her boyfriend was just as smart and handsome as his character was suppose to be. The only thing that was different was Oliver didn't brag about his looks like 'Naru'.

"So you think...I'm handsome?" Oliver inquired, sliding his gaze towards her. Mai remarkably flushed on cue.

"Of course! I-I mean that's what all of the girls at school are saying!" Mai quickly corrected herself, waving her hands in front of her. Then she dropped her hands to her sides and looked away. "The tramps..." she grumbled threateningly.

_Take Seven._

"Amazing! Smart and handsome, too!" Mai muttered to herself, a weary look on her face. While it could be easily mistaken for surprise at the boy's self-confidence, the cast and crew knew it was because both of the directors were getting short with her. If she did not make this take flawless, there would be a cut from her paycheck.

"You think I'm handsome?" Oliver asked, not removing his eyes from her stance.

"Well, aren't you? Everyone else is making a fuss," Mai said curiously. Oliver scoffed as he returned to his work.

"Hmm, their taste isn't so bad," Oliver mused aloud, allowing Mai to reel back in shock. Before the scene could be ruined, Amy called for a cut.

"We got it!" she cried out happily. Nia held up her hand for a high-five which Amy gladly returned. It was then that a voice interrupted the celebration loudly.

"I certainly don't find Mr. Davis attractive," Masako sneered. "If anything, those that do are certainly in _poor_ taste."

"What was that, you brat?!" Mai growled, turning her attention to the frowning girl.

Amy sighed. Even in _success_ they could not have a break.

XxX

"Mai?"

Walking out of the building, the brunette turned towards the flashlight that was shining on her, wincing at the bright light when it evaded her vision.

"Were you with Kazuya all night?" Keiko questioned.

"What were you two doing?" Michiru asked. Glaring slightly, Mai gave them a half-smirk half-smile.

"He's my boyfriend—it's none your business what I do with him!" she answered, anger lacing the sweetness in her voice. "Besides children like you wouldn't understand yet."

"_Miss Taniyama_!" Nia yelled, off-set, at Mai hinting at such a suggestion.

XxX

"Huh? Spirit investigations?" Michiru asked, her voice naturally distraught. "Then Shibuya-san isn't a senpai?"

"Mm-mmm, and he won't notice you no matter how many times you whisper it dramatically," Mai grinned. Michiru frowned in Mai's direction before Keiko said something that would make Michiru grin in victory and Mai face palm.

"Notice me, senpai..."

Amy decided to join Mai in the art form of face palming.

XxX

_Take Four._

"What are you doing?" Mai asked again as she peeked around the corner of the van at Oliver.

"Sitting here, hoping you won't mess up this simple scene again."

_Take Fifteen._

Mai wandered around the back of the van, thankfully not tripping this time. "What are you doing?"

"Checking yesterday's data. Doesn't seem to be anything unusual," Oliver said. He fiddled with the case in his hands and moved to type on the computer. Unceremoniously, the clipboard tumbled from his grasp and clattered loudly on the floor. Oliver frowned while his girlfriend cheered.

"It wasn't me this time!" she announced.

XxX

"That's some fancy equipment you got there." Ayako stated, coming in for her first appearance in the show. "It looks too hi-tech for a bunch of children to be messing with." she gave a small smirk with the air around her screaming confidence. The cameras switched to Mai and Oliver, only for the girl to start giggling.

"Oh, come on!" Nia shouted. How could they mess up again already?!

"I-I'm sorry, but she looks really different in that wig!"

XxX

"I am Taikigawa Ayako, a shrine maiden-"

"WAIT! Stop, stop, stop, stop!" Amy shouted, breaking up the whole scene with waving arms and a loud voice. Everyone looked on her incredulously.

"They were getting the scene right, though," Nia pointed out. The shrine maiden actress was to introduce herself, and then the monk.

"We didn't think about the fact that none of the characters are supposed to be related. We can't have a 'Takigawa Ayako' and a 'Takigawa Hoshou', that's too coincidental in a show filled to the brim with them," Amy said. "We need a name that's somewhat generic, but can give the readers a hint that she's the daughter of—"

"What about Matsuzaki?" Ayako piped up. Everyone turned to the girl, interest in their eyes. "Matsuzaki is the family name of a bunch of doctors in this movie I saw once, but no onw will really know it if we don't explain it. That should work, right?"

Amy thought about it for a moment before nodding in assent. She turned to Nia, who also seemed in agreement. Grinning, Amy retook her chair.

"All right, from the top with the new name change," she said. A clapper went off and everyone was in character once more.

"I am Matsuzaki Ayako, the shrine maiden. The principal said..."

XxX

"Look, kids, you may have gotten this job because your office is nearby, but the principal himself said it seemed like a scam to have a teenager running the show!" Houshou exclaimed, using the right amount of irritation in his voice.

"Did he now?" Oliver muttered without looking at anyone as he opened the laptop. "It makes you wonder why he would hire a teenager in the first place if he had thought that."

Mai tapped her forefinger on her chin. "Yeah...that doesn't make sense, does it?"

"Those aren't your lines!" the younger director huffed, shaking her head.

XxX

"I'm very spiritually sensitive," Kuroda explained, the correct proportion of relief in her voice and facial expressions. Thankfully, she did not stutter or trip over her lines. "So I've been really tormented by—"

"You grandstander," Ayako deadpanned. Kuroda's features flooded with shock and surprise. "You just want to make yourself conspicuous... and..."

"Uh oh..." Hoshou said, watching as his sister began falling out of character.

"Do I really have to say such mean things?" the girl with the wig asked, her shoulders slumped over. Nia and Amy made a unanimous stern nod. Ayako took a deep breath to try again and her brother gave her a slight pep talk on the side.

How far off was lunch break again?

XxX

"So, Naru! What are we going to do today?" Mai asked with a smile. Oliver gave a pause before turning his head towards his girlfriend.

"What did you just say?" he questioned almost harshly, causing Mai to take a step back.

"Uh...oh, I'm so—"

"Did you just call me 'Naru'?" he demanded.

"Well...y-yeah...um..." she trailed off. They both stared at each other for several moments before Houshou gave a small laugh.

"It's a simple line, Mai."

"Oh, shut it!"

XxX

"Hey, everyone, I see you're all here," the principal stated happily, interrupting Mai as she playfully tapped her boyfriend's chest. The actors turned simultaneously to see the man and John standing side-by-side. "This is John Brown-san."

The blonde man—now devoid of his helmet and leather jacket—looked so cute and disarming. Completely opposite of what he had appeared like only a few moments ago. He bowed far too deeply and used a voice that was slightly more innocent than the voice they had come to know. "How's tricks?"

Rather than wait dumbstruck for the man to finish his introduction, the entire cast fell over laughing. A scowl covered the blonde's face. "I'm having a hard time doing this as it is, the least you could do is let me go through the embarrassment only once..."

"Aw, but it was so cute..." Nia pouted from the sidelines, also hiding a bit of laughter. Amy nodded in agreement.

Xxx

"Only those who have been ordained in a Catholic church as priests have the ability to conduct exorcisms." Oliver stated perfectly. "You seem young for that."

"You sure know a lot of things." John gave a sheepish smile before his expression became void of any expression except the scowl on his face, showing his dislike for the man in front of him. The directors began to panic. They couldn't mess up _another_ scene! Where was their sense of professionalism? "Including how to be rude to people, specifically my girlfriend."

Oliver frowned, flicking his gaze towards the directors before back on John. "Excuse me?"

Nia groaned as John began berating Oliver about how he apparently mistreated Masako at the auditions. Then, once Mai started yelling at the blonde in defense for her boyfriend, Amy joined Nia as she continued to groan and shook her head.

XxX

"An exorcist, an apostate monk, and a Ghost Hunter?" Ayako asked, a lilt of exhaustion in her voice. "To call in this many people, that principal has no faith in me, huh? Hmph, just you watch! I'll clean out this run-down schoolhouse by myself!"

"I'm going to go work on my own, too," Hoshou stated with a grin as he went out of the door. John instantly ran to the exit in order to drag the actor back.

"You can't seriously leave me as the only person to work with this guy! I thought the priest and priestess were supposed to leave!" John complained. Simultaneously, the Takigawa siblings turned around with a smirk on their faces.

"Too bad," they said.

"It was whoever spoke up first, and since I've already done that, every take we do over has me and Ayako leaving," the long-haired man said with a shrug. John fumed out of his ears as he returned to the spot he had started in, ready to do another take. He could not _believe_ this.

Amy and Nia sighed. Maybe this would be good for them...? Who knew?

XxX

_Take One._

Hearing Ayako's sudden scream made Mai flinched a bit, despite knowing the fact that it was coming. She rubbed her ears. "Gosh, is she trying to burst my eardrums?!"

_Take Two._

As they heard Ayako scream once more, Oliver, Mai, and John ran towards the place to where she was. Houshou already appeared to be there, trying to open the door.

"Stand back, I'm go—!"

However before he could finish delivering his lines, the door fell forward, revealing Ayako. Her eyes were wide as she stared at it before shifting her gaze towards her brother.

"Well, that wasn't suppose to happen..." Houshou rubbed the back of his head, trying to ignore Mai's giggles.

Xxx

"As I was looking around the classroom, the door suddenly closed, and when I tried it open it, I couldn't," Ayako explained, a frustrated expression upon her face. "There really is something here, after all."

"No, there isn't. I don't sense any presence," a familiar voice called from off-screen. The cameras focused in on Masako, who was cloaked expertly in shadow.

"T-there it is!" Mai cried out, grasping onto Oliver's shirt. She held onto it until she realized no one was talking. More specifically, her boyfriend. It was his line. She looked up to see he was smirking down at her. "W-what's that for?"

"Nothing in particular," he stated, seeing no need to explain himself. Mai flushed and attempted to pull down on his shirt slightly in an attempt to get a response.

"You think he's doing this on purpose?" Nia asked of Amy. The latter girl nodded, then they both sighed together. How had they amassed such a group of amateurs?

XxX

"...The only reason she gets ratings is because she's pretty and she wears that silly kimono." Ayako stated, her eyes closed and facing away from Masako. She found that it helped not to look at the people she had to be mean to.

"Why thank you. I'll take that as a compliment." Masako said, not caring that those weren't suppose to be her lines. The two directors glanced at each other, their shoulders slumped. Why couldn't these people stick to the script?!

"Well, trust me, it's not." the other woman ad-libbed, gritting her teeth. Amy and Nia's ears perked up. Perhaps this scene wouldn't be bad after all!

XxX

"Yes. I think it's afraid to lose its home so its blocking the construction work," Hoshou said. While he had been explaining, Oliver had been holding a...

"Mr. Davis, what happened to the nail you were supposed to be fiddling with?" Amy asked, cutting the scene. Oliver looked up.

"I felt a four leaf clover was more appropriate."

Nia and Amy face palmed. He was _not_ a leprechaun hunter!

XxX

"So, it's either a haunting or fiction and folklore..." Oliver recited after John said his lines. He then turned towards Mai, who was conversing with Ayako. "Are you listening, Mai?"

It took a few moments before the young woman realized her name was being called. She turned around, blinking at her boyfriend. "Did you say something?" she asked innocently. Oliver sighed.

"Mai..." he said in a warning tone. Honestly, if she didn't start paying attention... And she was the one who wanted to do this to begin with!

"Oh..." Mai grinned sheepishly, seeing everyone looking at her expectantly. "It was suppose to be my line next, wasn't it?"

XxX

"I can't hang around you people forever," Ayako said as she moved to the door. She was headed off by a perfectly shadowed Kuroda.

"Are you sure you can drive it out?" she asked, her voice free of stuttering or hesitation. "There is a very strong spirit in here."

"Kuro—"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset! Please don't cry, Takigawa-san!" Kuroda panicked, doing everything she could to appease the girl. Ayako shook her head.

"No, you're doing a great job at your acting, I just have to remember to stay in-character," Ayako admonished herself. Kuroda seemed shocked.

"But you're doing such a good job!"

As the compliment fest continued, the rest of the cast gave a collective sigh. Finally, they knew the pain of their frustrated directors.

XxX

"It's true. I was walking down the hallway when suddenly my hair was yanked backwards when an amazing amount of force." Kuroda explained. "When I tried to flee, it started strangling me."

"When did this happen?" Oliver questioned, his arms crossed.

"In a dream I had a few days ago..." the bespectacled girl whispered absently, almost creepily. Everyone glanced at each other warily before Mai discreetly shuffled closer to her boyfriend and away from Kuroda.

XxX

"The second floor hallway, you said?" Oliver asked, turning around to his monitors. He pressed a single button and all of the monitors lit up at the same time.

"Anyone else think that's kinda creepy?" Hoshou asked. The rest of the cast nodded in agreement. Amy and Nia sighed. It had taken _hours_ to set that up the first time, and now they would have to do it again.

XxX

"What happened? Is the camera broken?" Mai wondered as the picture on the screen purposely went out and the static came in.

"It probably went out because it couldn't take you staring at it with that face of yours." John mumbled under his breath, but it happened to be loud enough for the other actors to hear. Masako gave a small laugh, while Mai glared at the blonde followed by Oliver. Nia and Amy sweat-dropped as they watched their actors.

XxX

"But Hara-san said there were no spirits," Mai said, trying to talk sense into Kuroda.

"I wonder if she really has any spiritual sensitivity," Kuroda said, turning to Masako with an accusatory glare. When it seemed as though her stare were about to falter, Oliver chose to say his lines.

"It's common for a female medium to run extremely hot or cold," he said calmly. "Even if she wasn't able to sense it earlier, we can't say for sure that there isn't one here. If what you say is true, then it's possible that the spirit here is quite in tune with your wavelength."

"Eh? Like a radio?" Mai asked, turning to Oliver. She sweat-dropped when everyone glared at her. "W-what's with all the looks?"

"Miss Taniyama, no one asks about that," Amy said. Mai tilted her head.

"Like an elephant in the room?"

"No, it's just that no one cares."

"Well, that's rude of you to say. And here I thought Mr. Davis and Miss Taniyama were the rude ones here," Masako said aloud, effectively knocking Amy back verbally. These people...!

* * *

**Naruisawesome: Hey guys! So how'd you like these bloopers? XD We enjoyed making them~!**

**AmyNChan: Lol, I think we laugh as much as you guys do! XD But there is something that we should probably note, huh?**

**Naruisawesome: Probably so... Some of yall probably noticed that what the characters say are both from subbed and dubbed anime. ^_^; There's a reason for that lol.**

**AmyNChan: I thrive on the subbed version of most animes!**

**Naruisawesome: And usually so do I, but Ghost Hunt, along with a few other animes, I prefer the dubbed version. ^_^ So, this is why we're using both the subbed and dubbed versions of this.**

**AmyNChan: Yup, yup! It's really interesting, though. XD**

**Naruisawesome: Yup~! XD And thanks for all of the reviews, followers, and favorites! ^_^**

**AmyNChan: We hope you continue to do so~! *^_^***


	4. Chapter 4: Episode 2

At dawn and still half asleep, Nia sluggishly walked into the studio with a cup of hot tea in her hand. She plopped down into the seat beside Amy, taking a sip of her drink.

"You seem tired," the girl chuckled, writing a few things down on her clipboard before they could begin anything. Nia sighed.

"I just couldn't stop thinking about this show... It took forever to get the first episode done, how are we suppose to get through the others?" she asked her friend, rubbing her eyes. Amy shrugged as she pulled her bare feet onto the director's chair. She scribbled some more on her board.

"Maybe the problem is that we were approaching it from too professional an angle? If we let the cast have their fun off-set, they might be less inclined to goof off and waste film and time?"

The younger director let out a breath, shrugging as well. "I'll try anything." she replied desperately. Amy looked at her friend and noted her tired eyes.

"Why don't you get some extra rest while we wait for the actors to show up? I can give them a warning prank so they know not to mess around so much today."

Before Nia could ask what the girl had on her mind, Amy had leapt off of her chair and was already walking towards the door. Sleepily, Nia watched Amy with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What on earth was she doing now? Then again, she wasn't quite sure she wanted to know...

* * *

_Take One._

"I stand here today to beseech the gods," Ayako began to recite the prayer calmly, waving the mini-mop type thing back and forth. She wasn't exactly sure what it was, but it was fun to carry around. "I call upon them to desc—" her words were cut short, however, when the newspaper strands flew off the stick. Ayako blinked in surprise before a laugh escaped her lips. "I had a prop malfunction."

_Take Two._

"I call upon them to descend from the heavens and join us where no gods dwell," the woman said once again, having had her prop fixed. "to end this—" this time though she waved the mini-mop thing to close to the candles and it began to catch on fire. Her eyes widened and she gasped. "Fire! It's on fire!" she yelled frantically.

The directors were on their feet immediately, but before they could do anything, Houshou was already on stage with a large cup of water. He slung the water out of it. It successfully put the fire out, but the water also got all over Ayako, soaking her clothes and making her makeup run down her face.

"Thanks..."

_Take Fifteen._

"...And bless it's many vessels..." Ayako continued calmly, waving the stick...thing...back and forth.

"Ah-choo!" The actor playing as the principal sneezed. Everyone turned to him as he chuckled nervously.

"Gesundheit," Amy said dryly as they set up for another take.

XxX

"I must stay here for the next twelve hours to keep an eye on things." Ayako stated with a small smile.

"Right, of course; you're a true professional. Maybe we can meet up for lunch sometime." the man playing the principal suggested as he began to walk away. Mai's face scrunched up in mild disgust from the sidelines.

"Why does it seem he's hitting on Ayako? Isn't he too old for her?" she asked, mostly to herself, but everyone else heard her. Including the directors who shot warning glares at her.

XxX

The trio began to walk to the doors, where Ayako was scripted to see the principal and director head off. None of them were expecting the crinkling of glass, nor the implosion that came next. Ayako ducked to the ground and covered her head. Amy looked at the principal and board and nodded at them. Subtly, they lined their faces with fake blood.

The first to react was Hoshou, running to his sister's aid. "Hey, are you all right?"

"He's bleeding!" John cried out, still in character for some reason. Amy smirked. This was going well.

"Him, too!" Hoshou said upon further inspection. He turned to his sister, who did not appear to be bleeding, but he wanted to be sure. "Are you hurt?"

"No..." Ayako said, not moving for the fear of glass that was all around her. Everyone was still for a few moments before Amy clapped her hands.

"Great, you guys made it through a scene just fine. But Mai and Oliver, we need you guys to stay a little separate so we can film Mai worrying a bit about this ghost," Amy said, writing on her clipboard. All the actors turned to her.

"A _scene_?" Mai gasped. "The window _broke_! There's glass everywhere!"

"Calm down, it's just Piccotex. I couldn't use sugar windows because the scene took to long, but this stuff won't hurt you," Amy said, hopping off her director's chair. Nia watched, intrigued, as Amy took up a piece of 'glass' and ran it across her hand. She smirked at most everyone's dumbfounded expression.

"What about the script?" Oliver asked. Amy shook her head.

"I gave you guys a bogus script this morning. This is the real scene, you guys just didn't know it. Now, how many times to I have to do this to tell you guys to behave, I wonder...?" With that leading off remark, Amy turned tail and walked to her chair, directing a few stage hands to clean up the mess. "Oh, boys? You can leave if you like, we got the footage we needed."

The cleaned up extras appeared grateful as they stood and left. Everyone else on stage noted the sudden lack of blood. Oh, boy, they were working with a crazy person...

XxX

"...There are no spirits here to begin with." Masako said calmly. The directors were extremely pleased at the moment. They had went through a couple of scenes now without anyone messing up. Perhaps now, after Amy's impromptu 'lesson', everyone would finally start to act—

"Yes, there are!" Kurado yelled out her lines as she should. But the next moment her fierce expression was gone and was replaced worry and a bit of guilt. She turned towards Nia and Amy. "I'm sorry! I lost focus...I'm just not use to acting in such a rude way...

Nia sighed. "It's fine... Re-take the scene!" she told the cameraman, along with Masako and Ayako.

XxX

"That classroom didn't have a chair in the middle of it, did it?" Mai asked aloud, focusing on the one monitor above her head. The three men around her immediately turned in order to take a look.

"That's the classroom on the eastern edge of the second floor," Oliver supplied evenly, as he was supposed to. Mai nodded.

"Yesterday, when I set up the camera in there, it wasn't there. I'm sure of it. I'd remember," Mai said. A stubborn air collected around her, as it was supposed to.

"Did anyone go in that classroom today?" Oliver inquired. After receiving the scripted negatives, he rewound the tape. All was silent for a moment before Kuroda walked into the room and dragged the chair into the middle. She then turned around and walked off.

"Miss Naoko, why didn't you use the magnets like you were supposed to?" Amy sighed. Kuroda messed with her fingers and mumbled something.

"We can't hear you. Say again?" Nia asked. Kuroda blushed in embarrassment.

"I lost the magnets...

Everyone sighed. "Just great."

XxX

"...Quite often objects that are manipulated by poltergeists will feel warm to the touch." Oliver said his lines, adding on to the explanation Kuroda gave. "If we look at the thermographic image, we can see that the chair is not radiating heat."

Absent-mindedly, as if forgetting what she was currently doing, Mai reached for Oliver's hand that was so close to hers and interwined them together. Then she leaned her head against his arm.

"Cut!" Nia's voice rang out. She noticed Mai blinked in surprise as she lifted her head from Oliver. "Miss Taniyama, what do you think you're doing?" she questioned, gesturing towards the couple's still interwined hands. Mai followed her gaze, and the girl's eyes widened. She removed her hand from her boyfriend's and took a step away from him.

"Sorry, I forgot..." Mai sheepishly told the directors, who sighed, shaking their heads.

XxX

"Then what about Kuroda-san being attacked?" Mai asked.

"It was her imagination," Masako stated plainly. Kuroda instantly turned to her with a displeased frown.

"It was not!" she said.

"Was so," Masako returned.

"Not!"

"So."

"Not!"

As the volley continued, Amy face palmed. This was not how the scene went.

XxX

"If we truly are dealing with a spirit here, and Masako can't sense it," John began once Masako left. "that would be quite a shock..."

"There is no evidence suggesting there is one." Oliver stated, causing him to get an annoyed look from his girlfriend. Knowing that look and what she was thinking, he was going to send her some sort of vague sign not to mess up the scene, but before he could, Mai already had spoken up.

"Does he _really_ have to be on her side and defend her like that?" she demanded from the directors.

"This is probably the only thing Miss Taniyama and I will ever agree on!" Masako's voice rang from off-set. Nia and Amy massaged their temples. Really, what were they going to do with those two girls?! It was too early to be getting a headache already!

XxX

"Shibuya-san, you're just a sucker for a pretty face," Kuroda said. Mai turned to the girl with the appropriate amount of shock on her own. "You're sticking up for her quite a bit, aren't you?"

"I know her profession and her talents are highly regarded," Oliver replied. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be slightly frustrated. "So I am only offering her the proper respect."

"And you couldn't have done that during the auditions?" John muttered. He had not meant for anyone to hear, however, no one wanted such a sour look on the face of an innocent priest. The directors groaned before setting up the shot again.

XxX

_Take Five._

"Do I _really_ have to 'fall'?" Masako demanded warily as she peeked out of the window and at the air mattress two stories below. The directors sighed.

"For the fifth time, _yes_!" Nia exclaimed, exasperated.

"Can't I have a stunt double or something?!"

"No!" Amy yelled, fed up with actress just as Nia was. Really, you'd think with the way Masako's personality was, she'd _enjoy_ falling down and landing on an air mattress!

XxX

"No," John stated again. Amy sighed.

"And why not?" she demanded.

"I will not watch Masako fall out of a building. I will not stand for it," he said clearly. The fire in his blue eyes was strong, but the frustration in Amy's was stronger.

"You knew what you were signing up for. Miss Hara's already fallen out of the building and she's safe. All you have to do is state the obvious in your cute accent, got it?" Amy growled. John's frown deepened.

"No."

"Ugg!"

XxX

"...She must have leaned on it, causing it to break beneath her weight." Oliver explained, only to have the scene interrupted by an angry John.

"Are you calling Masako fat?!"

XxX

"What do you think, Bou-san?" Oliver asked, leaning against the table holding his equipment.

"Like I said from the start, it's a sitebound spirit," Hoshou said.

"And you, John?" he asked, turning to the boy. John appeared to be on the brink of answering when Mai intervened.

"Wait, the character calls me and the priest by our first names?" Mai wondered. Everyone turned to her. "Well, it's just that he calls the monk Bou-san and the rest of the girls by their last names, Matsuzaki-san and Hara-san. But he calls me by my first name—and we all know why—but he also calls him John? Why?"

"Probably because the priest is from Australia and the character is already aware that other countries say given names rather than surnames," Oliver supplied. Mai wondered and walked off, putting the information together.

"If you're done speculating like a bunch of fanfiction writers, can we get back to the shoot, please?" Amy asked. That earned her a whack on the head from Nia, who merely shook her head sadly. "What?"

XxX

"...I think I'll hold off on my opinions for now." Oliver vaguely spoke after Houshou said his lines. Then he frowned, turning towards the directors. "He's a bit arrogant, isn't he?"

Nia sighed in frustration, but nonetheless nodded. "Yes, he is. And he's also a so-called narcissist, hence the name Naru the Narcissist."

XxX

"How about that boy?" Hoshou asked. "He makes a grand show with all of this high faultin' equipment, but is he really capable of anything?"

The good news was that Mai managed to stay silent as the other actor threw a jab at her boyfriend. The bad news was that her every viable insult and defense that she could have made for him was written clearly across her face.

"Miss Taniayama, you are aware that we have to film you looking _concerned_, not murderous, correct?" Amy asked. Mai nodded, but her expression did not calm down until five minutes later.

XxX

"Wait, so the ceiling is _actually_ going to fall?!" John asked for confirmation, though angrily. Nia and Amy sighed and nodded. "What if it crushes me?"

"I can assure you it won't." Amy told him.

"And if it _does_?"

"It. Won't." Nia tried to say it as patiently as she could, but she ended up clenching her teeth anyway. "As long as you move out of the way when Mai says 'the ceiling is falling' then you'll be fine."

John, in return, crossed his arms stubbornly.

XxX

"Right, I'll be going, too," Ayako said, still in her priestess outfit from earlier. "'While there is life there's hope.'"

"Just be honest and say you're scared," Hoshou teased. "Just like that time you were five and—"

"Eh! Nii-san, don't remind me!" Ayako shrieked, covering her face with her hands. Mai rose an eyebrow with an almost _evil_ glint in her eye.

"Story time anyone?" she asked. The directors shook their heads simultaneously.

XxX

_Take One._

"Naru? Did you sleep here last night? That can't be good for you." Mai spoke to Oliver, who was pretending to be asleep. He stirred a bit before opening his eyes and bringing a hand to his head.

"Hey, Mai. What are you doing here at this hour?"

Mai stared at him for a bit before she let out a giggle. "Like Noll ever looks this handsome right after waking up!"

Narrowing his eyes, Oliver scowled. "Oh? Well, I hate to break it to you, but you don't look like a princess just after waking up either."

_Take Two._

"Hey, Mai. What are you doing here at this hour?"

"At this hour?" the brunette glanced around at what was suppose to be natural daylight. "Do you think it's in the middle of the night or something?"

Nia sighed. "Tone down the sarcasm, Miss Taniyama."

_Take Five._

"Is that you, Mai? What do you want, this early in the morning?" Oliver asked, moving his hair aside so he could see the girl properly.

Finally, Mai gave the desired reaction. Her face flushed into a light red and she looked away, annoyed.

However, she did not come out of her slight stupor—which they would be voicing over later—as quickly as she ought to. As he killed time, Oliver took the moment to turn to the directors. "I like this line better."

Amy posed for victory while Nia glared at her. Amy completely deserved the fact that she fell on her rear end two seconds after realizing they would have to shoot the scene _again_. Nia chuckled this time at her misfortune.

XxX

As Oliver clicked a button on the laptop to show the others another picture on it, they stood there for a full minute before the laptop even loaded the page half way.

"This is too slow." Oliver commented, staring at the piece of technology with a deep frown.

"Well, _excuse me_." Nia grumbled. It wasn't her fault that the internet connection wasn't quick enough.

XxX

"Yes. The floor of the classroom at the eastern end, where the ceiling collapsed, was three inches lower than the west end," Oliver explained. Mai shifted into a confused position as she was supposed to.

"Three inches is..."

"About 7 1/2 centimeters, huh?" Hoshou finished, easily doing the calculation in his head. Ayako turned towards Oliver.

"Are we not even going to talk about how the heck a sixteen year old _boy_ measured the difference between the height of a building at one end versus another?" she asked.

Everyone sweat dropped. It was a curious question, but not the one she was supposed to ask.

XxX

"Are you really leaving?" Mai questioned as Oliver packed a few wires into the box. "Well?"

"No, I thought it'd just be nice to pack everything and then unpack it again once I'm done." he said sarcastically. "Seriously who writes these lines? You keep asking and stating the obvious."

Off the stage, Nia fumed while Amy had to hold her back from marching onto set.

XxX

"Maybe you just can't tell if it's here, right?!" Kuroda asked, her voice demanding and slightly pleading all at once. Oliver looked indifferent.

"Then you can drive it out. If you do have spiritual abilities, that is," he said. No one expected the girl to actually _cry_ over it.

"Um...Miss Naoko, you know he's not really attacking you, right?" Amy asked. The girl shook her head and continued to cry for a few moments. Seriously, though, how were they going to finish the shot with actors like these?

XxX

"There's nothing left for me to investigate, I'm leaving. End of story." Oliver announced as he picked up another piece of his equipment and placed it inside the box that was beside Mai. The scene was going so well until Houshou ruined it.

"Hey, shouldn't Mai at least be helping him pack? I mean he's doing it all by himself while everyone else is just standing around and being lazy. She is suppose to be his assistant after all."

Mai frowned, thinking about it. "Yeah, that would make sense..."

Nia hit her head against the clipboard in her hands.

XxX

"It kind of feels like the dream is over..." Mai said. Although she wasn't supposed to, she looked up to see what kind of confused face Oliver would pull. That deadpan 'eh' was too much for her to take seriously.

"Noll! Your face!" she laughed. "I've never seen you do that before!"

Mai was laughing, the directors were not. They face palmed.

XxX

Suddenly the actors heard sounds of glass cracking. Everyone's eyes widen in fright, having not known such a thing was going to happen. Mai and Ayako clung on to Oliver and Houshou respectively, though the scene would have been perfect if they had not done so. The windows blew out next, and all the shards of the glass fell on Kuroda specifically.

"Kuroda!"

"I'm okay!"

Nia sighed tiredly, looking towards Amy with a mild worried expression. "Please tell me you _forgot_ to give them the real script after the prank you did on them, and that you _didn't_ give it to them on purpose to be mean..."

"I wonder..." Amy replied innocently.

* * *

"Hey, aren't our directors a bit mean?" Mai asked her boyfriend conspiratorially. Oliver sighed as he had his hand made up. It was a steady stream of fake blood that would travel down his long sleeve to appear as though his hand were bleeding. "They played that trick on us this morning and just now."

"Nia-san appears to be a fine director, only angered when scenes don't go correctly or when the actors goof off," Oliver responded. The tubing the make up artist was attaching to his arm for the blood tickled. "Amy-san is the devious one."

"So...should we get her back somehow?" Mai asked.

"If you're going to get Amy back, I'm in," a surprising voice said from behind. Oliver and Mai turned to see John and Masako there, each looking put-off that they would have to join forces with the other duo in order to exact revenge. "I don't want to work with either of you, but that director is gonna hurt somebody and I don't want it to be Masako."

"Hara-san isn't even in the scene anymore..."

"All right, time to get rolling!" Amy called from her director's chair. Ayako and Hoshou were already in place with Kuroda. Oliver narrowed his eyes.

"We'll discuss it later," he said as he, Mai, and John went to their places.

* * *

"Hey, what's up, Mai?" John asked, holding the wires out for Mai to take. "Do you mind if I give you a hand?"

Mai looked up, a smile on her face as it should be, but then she frowned at the way too forced smile on the blonde's face. "Gee, you don't have to hurt yourself to be kind to me." she deadpanned. John scowled.

"I _am_ trying at least."

XxX

"Do you still believe in the boy's explanation?" Ayako asked. Both she and her brother had smug looks on their faces from the door. The fact that Mai knew those looks were not acted fueled her own 'acted' response.

"Do you have any proof that he's wrong?" Mai defended. "If so, prove to me that there's an evil spirit here!"

Unanimously, the Takigawa siblings pointed off-stage. Confused, Mai turned around to see...

"A FLOATING DOLL FACE!?" she screamed, jumping back. "AMY-SAN, THIS ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE! STOP IT!"

"It's not me this time! Miss Hara, what are you doing ruining the shoot?!" Amy called out. The petite girl sighed as she removed herself from the shadows, where she had been able to pretend she was an actual ghost.

"Lin-san, I believe you owe me five yen," Masako said. The tall man frowned as he tossed her the bet money.

"Honestly, Taniyama-san. I expected you to be more level-headed..."

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

Both directors sighed.

XxX

"We're good now," Houshou stated smugly as he and John came to join Mai, Ayako, and Kuroda. "Ayako's effort may have been a complete failure, but mine wasn't."

"Excuse me?!"

"Well, it is true, isn't it?" the man challenged his sister.

"Don't take credit for my work!" Ayako yelled. "You always do that, you always have since we were little! And I'm the one who _really_ won the science fair in third grade—not you!"

"Hey, you're the one who _offered_ to help me on my project! I can't believe you're still going on about that!"

"Helped? I did everything!"

Mai covered her ears, being right in the middle of the arguing siblings. Meanwhile Nia and Amy tried their best to stay calm. Perhaps hiring people who were related or had relations towards each other wasn't a good idea...

XxX

"I hear something," John said. He looked up along with everyone else, listening to the sound of footsteps above them.

"Someone's there."

"No way."

Not a moment after Hoshou said his piece, he began to run up the stairs. "What's this?"

Fueled by curiosity—the shot was ruined anyway—the others followed him. They ran to the top of the set to find—

"Noll, Hara-san. What—?" Mai asked. Her boyfriend shook his head.

"We don't have extras to do this for the scene, and since Hara-san and I are out anyway, the directors told us to do this," Oliver explained, tapping the floor with his shoe to emphasize what he meant. Everyone nodded in understanding. Except for Ayako.

"Why not just use recordings?" she asked. Everyone else blinked. That _was_ a good question.

"Can all of you except for Mr. Davis and Ms. Hara come down from there? We need to do the shoot again," Amy called out. Everyone sighed.

XxX

"I don't remember Naru coming up with any lame excuses, do you?!" Mai said angrily at Ayako and Houshou. "Funny how the adults are acting like ch—" she suddenly let out a gasp as she heard violent knocking sounds on the set. She spun around to face Amy. "Is that Noll and Miss Hara again?!"

Nia groaned, rubbing her temples. "Don't tell me you didn't get them the real scripts _again_..."

"Ehe..." Amy only gave a sheepish grin in reply.

XxX

"Kuroda-san, hurry!" Mai shouted. The two girls raced down the hallway as they were supposed to. Mai was completely surprised when the bookshelf to her right began to bear down on her.

"Jou-chan!" Hoshou called out, having known that the scene was coming this time. However, it seemed as though only the actors in the scene had known what was about to happen.

"Noll!" Mai called from her newfound position far away from the bookcase, which was actually a styrofoam replica. She watched as her boyfriend removed the little flakes of brown-painted white stuff from his black shirt. He turned his glare to the directors.

"Who's idea was it to drop something on Mai?" he asked lowly. The directors sighed and Nia glared at Amy.

"I gave them the real script this time... I think I just forgot Mr. Davis's..."

"You think?" Nia asked. Amy chuckled nervously.

* * *

**Naruisawesome: *giggles* So Mai, Naru, John, and Masako are out to get Amy-chan now!**

**AmyNChan:** **Yeah...what have I done to myself? ^^; **

**Naruisawesome: *pats her shoulder* Don't worry...we'll think of something bad to do to you. XD**

**AmyNChan: Wait, wha—?!**

**Naruisawesome: Hope you enjoyed and please review~!**

**AmyNChan: Hey!**


	5. Chapter 5: Episode 3

"Alright..." Mai began as she glanced at her boyfriend and two coworkers. They were at the studio but had snuck away to some place quiet before work began that day to concot a plan to teach Amy a lesson.

"Does anyone of us have any idea what she would find unpleasant or terrifying?" Masako asked. She and John were good at this, but as it was Mai and Oliver's idea so they should have a plan.

"How are we suppose to know?" Mai questioned, frowning. "We barely know anything about her personal life, like fears and such."

"You plan to take her down a peg and you don't even have a plan?" John asked. "We thought you knew what you were doing, otherwise we would have just done it on our own."

The bruentte's eye twitched in anger. "Now listen here, you little—"

"Mai." Oliver spoke, interrupting the girl before a fight could break out. Reluctantly, the brunette bit her tongue down. Oliver took a hold of the conversation instantly. "We need any information any of us can glean. We've worked two days with her already, surely we've noticed _something_ we can use."

"She's always barefoot?" Masako proposed. "Or wearing flip-flops."

"Or that she hates tea. I heard Nia talking about it yesterday morning when she was drinking it that Amy didn't like it." John spoke up next, listing things about their oldest director.

"She has a hand in her pocket when she doesn't think anyone's looking," Mai piped up. "And it's not her phone. She has that out on her director's chair and off during rehearsal. I think she's holding onto something."

"And that something would be...?" Masako droned, raising a brow slightly.

"I...don't know," Mai admitted.

Masako rolled her eyes. "Well, this is getting us no where." she mumbled, moving to lean on John.

"There has to be _something_ we can do..." Mai mourned. She looked up at her boyfriend questioningly. "What do you think, Noll?"

Oliver fell into thought at this question. With the scarce information they had, could they really prank the director back?

"Perhaps we should wait a little longer and see if we can find out more about her." he finally replied.

"Who knows...maybe an opportunity will come staring us in the face..." Mai said. The others thought her too optimistic, but she would stand by her thoughts. They just needed to wait to see what the day held for them.

"Alright, everyone! Let's start!" they all just did hear Nia's voice calling for everyone to come on set.

"See if you guys can find anything more out by lunch," Oliver ordered. John and Masako, however, scoffed as they went to the set.

"Who died and made him boss?"

* * *

Lying on the floor in the postion she was suppose to, Mai opened her eyes. Only a moment later did she try to draw her head further away from Oliver in surprise. "Woah, I didn't expect him to be _that_ close..."

"Oh, COME ON! The. Very. First. Scene?!" Nia yelled angrily, her eye twitching. Mai gave a sheepish smile.

"Sorry..."

XxX

"You should rest a little longer," Oliver said gently, laying his girlfriend back. She complied easily enough and then turned her head to look at her boyfriend.

"What's come over you? You're being so nice, Naru..." she said.

"I'm always nice," he returned. With that, the scene was broken and it was now Amy's turn to hold Nia back from raging. However, without the interference of either of the directors, the duo continued to debate whether or not Oliver was always nice to his girlfriend or not.

This was going tobe a long day.

XxX

"So you want to run away?!"

"Need I remind you that it was your own boss who ran away first?!" Ayako demanded Mai hotly. "He probably went home and cried himself to sleep."

"That is not true! Noll would never to something so petty! Don't think so lowly of him!" Mai retorted, her tone a bit harsher than Ayako's. As she felt the directors' glares on her, she realized she accidentally got out of character again. She gave a sheepish smile and apologized, seeing her boyfriend shaking his head off-set. "Oops..."

XxX

"You mean that incredibly swollen-headed, self-assured, world's-greatest holier-than-thou narcissist?" Mai asked curiously. She would not mess this up, she would not mess this up, she would not—

"In Shibuya-san's case, he probably got mad and went home to make up some straw effigy straws, don't you think?" John asked. The remaining trio looked worried for a moment before Mai deemed it was okay to laugh.

And so they all laughed. She laughed because she had finally not gotten a scene wrong. The Takigawa siblings laughed because Mai had no idea she had toilet paper on her head. John was trying to stay out of the way of the glaring directors moreso than the glaring black-haired actor who was standing right off-set and heard every word.

XxX

"You'll never believe what happen to us." Michiru began, only for Keiko to continue.

"Kazuya just called us up out of no where! We talked for like ten minutes!" she exclaimed excitedly, which caught Mai's feign interest.

"He called?!" Mai demanded, placing her hands on Keiko's shoulders.

"Y-yeah, last night..."

"Last night? He's been missing since yesterday afternoon! What did you talk about?!" Mai said her lines perfectly. Everyone could see Keiko paling.

"U-um, you k-know... About the s-school house... And-and...please don't hurt me, Mai!"

The brunette blinked in surprise, instantly removing her hands. That wasn't suppose to be the girl's lines...

Nia sighed. "It seems Miss Taniyama has frightened the girls now with talking about Mr. Davis... _Despite_ those being her correct lines..." she muttered.

XxX

Mai stared at the glowing light for a moment, allowing her features to relax as they ought to.

"Please focus on the light," Oliver said from his spot near the principal's desk. "Please match—directors, I think you gave us bad equipment."

"Seriously? It's brand new," Amy grumbled as she went over to inspect the light that had just gone out. She hit it on the bottom of her hand a couple times before the light resumed its normal pulsating. She set it back down on the desk. "Okay, then. Let's try to get this done before the prop fails again."

XxX

"I heard that you got injured." Oliver stated as he and Mai walked down the hallway of her school.

"Oh, it was no big deal. It was just styrofoam." she replied nonchalantly.

"_Miss Taniyama!_" Nia's angered voice rang out, causing Mai to cringe and hide behind her boyfriend.

"Well, it was!"

XxX

"Don't you have to get back to class?" Oliver asked as he kept walking. Mai trailed behind him as she was supposed to.

"Never mind that," she said.

"I get it. You want to be stupid," he said, looking her dead in the eye as he continued to walk. Mai's eyes widened.

"Oliver, look out for—"

Mai's warning came too late as her boyfriend slipped on something that had been left on-set. He fell backwards and—inevitably—into Mai. The girl had the wind knocked right out of her.

"Can't...breathe..."

"Who had the candy bar?" Nia asked with a huff, taking the offending chocolate wrapper off the floor. No one answered her.

XxX

"Were you the one who set up the microphone on the second floor last night?" Oliver asked, one hand on the earphones that were on his head. Mai straightened her back up when she realized he was addressing her.

"Y-Yeah. We were getting good video of Lin and his wife goofing off backstage, but I thought we should have a mike in there, you know so the directors could hear what they were saying and yell at _them_ for once." she replied. Amy let out a frustrated sigh.

"Miss Taniyama..." she warned.

"Well, they were!" Mai pouted. How is it that when she tried to bust someone else, she was the one to get in trouble?

"Brat..." Lin mumbled, his arms crossed.

XxX

"Oh, Mai-san's here, too," John said, coming out from behind the van.

"John?" she asked in an oblivious-like tone.

"All right, should we get started?" Oliver asked seriously. Mai blinked.

"But I thought we needed more—"

"That's just his line, Taniyama," John said, completely breaking character. Mai fumed.

"I knew that!"

The directors sighed. At least they could cut that last bit out and still salvage the scene...

XxX

John and Mai began hammering the nails in the boards as Oliver had instructed them to do. John did his carefully, but Mai pounded her nails harshly into the wood.

"You know, this really is danger— OW! I just hit my finger!" she cried out, dropping the hammer and cradling her hand to her chest. "I told you!" she addressed the directors.

"Just don't have your other hand so close to where you're hammering..." Nia gave a sigh while Oliver came into stage when his girlfriend called for him.

XxX

"All finished..." Mai panted. John looked pleased with his work—given that he was the one who didn't bend any nails. The man who had sat on his rear the whole time—literally, the whole time! The directors had filmed Mai and John boarding up the entire room!—offered them a marker.

"Both of you, sign all the boards," he ordered. Mai smirked.

"Oh, so you want my wonderful autograph, Noll?" she asked. Although the scene was ruined, Oliver smirked.

"No, it's so someone as idiotic as yourself doesn't forget their own name."

"That's mean!"

"It's a good thing they're only goofing off when we've got our scenes down, huh?" Amy asked, attempting to remain optimistic. Nia sighed. They both knew how gloomy and depressing it was to work with these actors.

XxX

"What are you doing here so early?" Oliver asked as Mai walked towards him and Lin.

"I couldn't sleep because I've been up all night thinking about the experiment... But we all know my character really wanted to come and see you. The not sleeping thing had to be an excuse."

"If you mess up another scene one more time...!" Nia angrily threatened.

XxX

"A-are you feeling better now?" Mai asked of Lin. The tall man turned towards her.

"I am obviously in perfect health given the fact that I am using a crutch," he deadpanned. This time, it was Nia restraining Amy from going up to the tall man and whacking him over the head for ruining yet another scene.

XxX

"Would you two please confirm that the paper you signed yesterday hasn't been tampered with?" Oliver asked Mai and John.

"Yeah, okay..." Mai agreed as she and John turned towards the wall which had their names written on it. "I don't see—" she cut herself off before looking more closely and began laughing. "Wh-who wrote 'Nia has major anger issues' on-on the w-wall!" she asked between giggles. Said director abruptly stood up, slamming her hands down on the table, glaring at everyone.

"WHAT?!"

Masako smirked. "It's true, isn't it?"

* * *

"Do you think she'll be all right?" Mai whispered to her boyfriend, gesturing towards Masako. The girl was undergoing heavy lecturing from Amy, surprisingly. Said director had told Nia to cool her head while she 'dealt with Miss Hara'.

"She's fine, she's got earplugs in," John said, grinning at his girlfriend. "Gotta say, though. That was pretty ingenious."

"Hopefully she uses this opportunity to gather dirt on Amy," Oliver said. "Given that she'll even think of it."

"Are you saying that you think Masako is stupid?"

Oliver and Mai sighed while Amy continued to rail at the teenager who was most obviously not listening.

* * *

Having the crowbar in his hands, Oliver stepped up towards the door that was covered with wooden boards. He pried one of the boards off and slung it to the side, making it look like an accident when it hit John.

"What was that for?!" John demanded fiercely as he held his shin. Oliver stopped what he was doing and looked at the blonde man.

"Oh, did it hit you? Sorry about that." he replied sarcastically.

"You just did it on purpose because of what I said about her," John pointed to Mai. "after you called Masako stupid!"

"He what?!" Masako screeched in growing anger. Since replying to that was beneath him, Oliver simply gave a small smirk and continued on with his scene despite it being totally ruined now.

XxX

"That was poltergeisting," Oliver said.

"If you know that, then how-"

"What else could he do?" Ayako interrupted her brother. "He's incapable of driving the spirits out, right?"

"Like you're any better..." Mai said on the side. Ayako's facade deflated and it was up to her brother to defend her.

"I don't see you rising to the plate!"

The directors were busy making effigies of each cast member.

XxX

"...often caused by people craving for attention. When stress is introduced, a self-defense type mechanism reacts on the brain..." Oliver said his lines perfectly, as did the last several scenes, which the directors were extremely thankful for.

"Craving attention... We all know who that is," Nia mumbled under her breath so only Amy could hear. "Miss Mai Taniyama."

Amy let out a sudden laugh.

XxX

From the start, I felt like you were drawing my attention," Oliver said as he moved into position. "For—Mai, stop that."

"What did I do?" Mai asked from behind Kuroda, where she was making funny faces.

XxX

"...you told yourself there was no other way. You simply couldn't face the truth." Oliver finally ended his long explanation to everyone, although mostly to Kuroda. The bespectacled girl began to fake-cry afterwards, as she should have. However, when Houshou gave a loud whistle, the directors glared at him, already knowing he wasn't going to give his lines correctly.

"Man, how did he memorize all of _that_?" he asked Mai, bending down to her level slightly. The brunette shrugged, amazed as well.

"Your guess is as good as mine..."

"Yes, and now thanks to you two, Mr. Davis has to do that again!" Nia stated in irritation. Oliver glared at his girlfriend and the man beside her. He'd like to see_ them_ try and say all of that without messing up once."

XxX

"Then, what about me being shut up inside that classroom, and the video being erased?" Ayako asked. Kuroda looked away shamefully, as she ought to have.

"Miko-san, in your case, it's because this was stuck into the door's groove."

"A four leaf clover?" Ayako asked. Oliver looked at the item before putting it in his pocket and retrieving the nail instead.

"No, a nail."

"Noll, you realize you're going to have to do the scene over anyway, right?" Mai asked. Her boyfriend frowned in her direction, while she merely grinned back.

XxX

"So someone did that on purpose?!" Ayako demanded. Then she looked towards Kuroda accusingly. "Was it you?!"

Kuroda's lip trembled. "It was!" she cried. "I'm so sorry, and I was the one who erased the tape too!"

Nia sighed, rubbing her temples once again. "You're not suppose to confess Kuroda... Or even speak." But she was ignored by a crying Kuroda and Ayako trying to console her.

XxX

"The principal hired us to make this place ready for construction." Oliver turned to the remainder of the cast. "I plan to report this: The haunting was a result of two incompetent directors and a crew filled with actors, each of which had no prior acting experience. Thus, it was also the result of a hair-brained romance—"

"Hey!" Nia shouted.

"Don't bash the plot! Ono-sensei is friggin' amazing!" Amy shouted as well.

"So stuff it and get the scene right!" the two yelled in sync. Everyone blinked. These two were scary when they tag teamed.

XxX

_Take One._

"Oh, I had no idea you were so sensitive. Do you have a girlfriend?" Ayako asked flirtatiously. Though inwardly embarrassed and awkward beyond belief, she managed to pull through alright. Oliver gave her a blank look.

"Yes, I do. And if you don't remove yourself from me now, I'm afraid you'll be missing an arm very soon." he said, giving a small gesture to Mai, who was sending Ayako a death glare. The actress paled and quickly let go of Oliver, then went to hide behind her brother.

"Miss Taniyama!" Nia reprimanded.

_Take Three._

"Hmmmm, Naru, you're qu..quite... Hoshou-nii, I can't do it!" Ayako wailed, running away from Oliver and to her brother. The rest of the actors on-set paled as the girl got emotional support.

"Don't worry, I won't let the mean ol' Mai-chan hurt you," he said.

"Hoshou-nii, that's not helping!"

XxX

_Take One._

"And Mai?" Oliver asked, and Mai came sprinting up to him.

"I already know, boss! 'Don't mess up another scene again'!" she recited his words with a grin while he frowned at her.

_Take Two._

"Mai," Oliver said. Mai hopped up energetically.

"I know," she responded, holding a finger to her lips. Pretending as though the sight were not cute, Oliver turned to the man with the crutch. "Lin, let's start breaking camp."

"Can we talk about how the fully abled high school girl wasn't asked to help and now he's telling this injured guy—" Ayako pointed towards Lin. "—to help him break camp?"

Everyone sighed.

XxX

"I can handle it. Why don't you head back to class? I'd hate to see you plummet further into the depths of dumb." Oliver said nonchalantly as he packed away a tripod. Mai instantly became angry, as she should but that was not the reason why.

"Gee, you sure don't have a problem saying those lines to me, do you?!"

Oliver smirked, looking back at her. "It's true, isn't it?"

XxX

"I'll work as hard as I can to smarten up!" Mai yelled as she glared at her boyfriend out of her peripheral. She began to stalk off as she was supposed to. Right to the school. Without saying the rest of her lines.

"Miss Taniyama, did you forget the rest of your lines?" Amy asked. The girl chose not to respond.

XxX

Amy and Nia had just put the finishing touches on their 'haunted building'. In all actuality, it was a scale model that was designed with specific breaks along the center so the building would crumple in a specific way once the platform beneath it was adjusted to a certain degree.

"How do you even come up with these ideas?" Nia asked. Amy shrugged.

"Film club teaches you to think outside the screen."

The former director shrugged at the answer—it was the best she was going to get—and led the way off-screen. Amy turned to the cameraman and technician.

"Just go on the count of—"

"Miss Taniyama, what are—"

"RAWR!" the actress cried out, stomping around the fragile set. The two directors ran forward, hoping to stop the girl in her tracks.

Their efforts did more harm than good.

Nia grabbed one arm and Amy grabbed the other, each intent on dragging the girl away from the set. However, the girl kicked and flailed, her left foot colliding with the set. She kicked it with such a force that the collapsible roof was sent flying into the hands of her amused boyfriend.

"Having fun?" he asked.

All three girls glared at him.

XxX

"Yeah, what the heck, Mai?" Michiru began. "Kazuya's gone forever and you didn't think to ask for his address? We couldn't even find his phone number in the book."

Mai, who was leaning her head against her hand for support, opened her eyes with a small glare. "So you were stalking him?" she demanded. Keiko and Michiru immediately clung to each other out of fear.

XxX

"Hello?" Mai asked, a subtly confused expression on her face.

"Is that you, Mai?" Naru's voice asked from the phone. Mai grinned.

"_Now_ who's the one asking obvious questions?" Mai asked.

Amy and Nia sighed as they realized they would have to film the scene over again.

XxX

_Take Six._

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Mai asked, a small blush perfectly adorning her cheeks.

"To stop goofing out and get this right so we all can go home."

Now, the brunette's cheeks turned red from anger. "Well, you're the one messing up the scene now! Idiot!" She yelled, then hung up on him as if he wasn't just off-set.

XxX

"Your fee," Oliver said.

"Huh?"

"Your payment for assisting me. If you don't want it, that's fine, too," Oliver continued. Mai frowned and held the phone away from her ear a moment, glaring at it as if it had offended her.

And glared.

And glared.

She brought the phone back to her ear and stared intently at her boyfriend who stood beside the directors. "How can you honestly forget your lines when you're not even on-screen?"

"Shut up."

Nia had to hold Amy back from smacking the boy upside the head.

XxX

"And thank you for your help, you were an excellent assistant." Oliver said. "...Even though you hardly did anything, kept arguing with people, and—"

"You can stop now." Mai deadpanned.

* * *

"Did any of you guys get something while we were filming?" Mai asked, looking at her coworkers. She was saddened to see them all shake their heads.

"She didn't hint anything when she was yelling at you, Masako?" John asked his girlfriend.

"She just kept blathering about integrity and to treat people with respect. I wasn't really paying attention to it," Masako said, shrugging her shoulders.

"She doesn't bawl people out for ten minutes when we do that to each other," Mai pointed out. "There had to be _something_ that made this different... Something we can use..."

"Well, sorry to break it to you, but we got noth—" Masako's words were cut short when the four of them heard a frightened scream.

"What was that?" Mai asked.

"If you ask any more obvious questions today, I'll say the script is getting to your head, Mai," Oliver said as he began to walk towards the sound of the scream. Mai frowned as she followed him.

"And I'll start calling you Naru in real life if you keep that attitude up," she returned.

"Shh!" John said from the front. He beckoned the others forward so they could see what was happening.

"Seriously, Nia?" Amy muttered as she massaged her heart. She was looking at something the four could not see, but it was obvious that whatever it was had frightened her something awful. "Why, why, _why_ would you do this to me...?"

"Can you see what it is, John?" Masako asked, seeing as how her boyfriend was up in the front of the group. But he only held up a finger, a sign of telling her to be quiet. Amy remained looking at the one thing out of sight for the actors, backing up as slowly as possible. Only when the girl was at the door did she tear her eyes away, and that was only to shut the door and lock it firmly.

Good news: they knew something scared their director. Badly.

Bad news: they had ended up locked in to get this information.

"So... anyone got a flashlight?" Mai asked.

"Oh, yes, because we all just carry a flashlight on us." Masako said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Not that anyone could see, of course. Suddenly they saw a source of light. They turned their heads towards it to see Oliver's face illuminated by his phone.

"I was gonna do that," John frowned as he pulled out his own phone.

"Obviously," Oliver said as he turned around. They were going to find out what had made their director scream in fright. Mai clung on to Oliver's sleeve as did Masako with John since the two men were leading the way with their phones.

"What if it's a spider?" Masako asked. Mai gulped.

"I hope it's not..." Mai whispered back. "I hate spiders."

"Tell me about it..." Oliver muttered under his breath, causing Mai to hit his arm. The four actors and actresses finally turned the corner, the lights of the phones guiding their path. There was only one thing out.

"This is it?" Mai asked, looking the object over. "It's not so scary."

Masako gave a sardonic laugh. "I can't believe she's afraid of _this_!"

* * *

**Naruisawesome: Sooo, wha'cha afraid of Amy-chan? XD**

**AmyNChan: Ehe... ^^; Everyone will just have to find out in the next chapter.**

**Naruisawesome: XD We hope this made you, readers, laugh again! ^_^ Thank you for reading!**

**AmyNChan: Yup~! And please review~! *^_^***


	6. Chapter 6: Episode 4

Driving to the studio at such an ungodly hour in the morning, the younger director mentally cursed herself once again. How she could forget her _phone_ of all things was beyond her. Unfortunately, she hadn't even realized she forgot it until she was already home late last night, so she just decided she'd come earlier to get it. After all, what if Amy had called or texted about the show? Being unprepared would be quite unprofessional. She refused to be like their incompetent actors. The sun had not even passed the rim of the sky when she arrived at the studio. Nia knew, after all, that Amy had a tendency to arrive early. Early by the actor's standards, and late by a Nia who had a mission's standards.

And boy, was she on a mission.

She pulled out her large ring of keys to unlock the door, which Amy had the duty of doing the night before. The keys weren't many, but she had a hard time finding the right one. Despite driving the whole way there and walking up to the studio, she was still half asleep after all. If she was lucky, hopefully she could take a nap before Amy and the actors got there—after she checked her phone of course.

Nia unlocked the door to the studio and poked her head inside. On the contrary to what she had thought moments before, the studio was not dark. Lights were powered up on the set. Cautiously, she stepped inside with a frown. Surely Amy couldn't have forgotten to turn off the power when she locked up...

"Is someone there?" a familiar voice asked. All too familiar to Nia. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Mai?" she wondered, looking around the room for the girl.

"Shh!" the girl whispered, coming off of set as she waved her hands in front of her. "The others are still sleeping!"

"What on _earth_ are you doing here?!" Nia demanded in a harsh whisper.

"It's not our fault!" Mai hissed. "That evil director locked us in!"

Nia crossed her arms with a stern look. "And I'm betting she didn't even have a clue you guys were in here." she nodded towards the three lumps sleeping on the floor. Oliver looked uncomfortable in his sleep, as though he were searching for extra heat. Masako and John were snuggled together on the far other side of the room.

There was a new, mysterious piece of tape that lined the middle of the floor.

"It's...better if you don't ask..." Mai finally said.

"Oh, I'm not asking." Nia stated, leaning towards the brunette threatening.

"It's better than having Masako and John hogtied to chairs. You guys didn't leave enough tape for that..." Mai said, looking away. Frustrated, Nia rubbed her temples. It really was too early in the morning for this.

"Just tell me why you four ended up locked in." she ordered as Oliver began to stir, both from the lack of warmth and also because of hearing their voices.

"Take that up with your co-director. She's the one who locked us in here," he said. True to her word the previous day, the boy did not look particularly awake or handsome as he woke up. His hair was tousled and...

"Dummy! You have drool on your face..." Mai sighed, going over to her boyfriend. Sleepily, the man glared while subtlety trying to wipe said drool away.

"Does this mean filming will start soon?" he asked.

"No, not for another two hours or so..." Nia replied. "I forgot my phone last night, so I came earlier than usual to get it in case Amy called about something." she then walked over to the directors' chair and got her phone, having momentarily forgotten the reason she came so early.

"Huh... Masako was wondering whose it was... We put it on a charger for you. There was a spare from another set," Mai said, jerking her thumb in the general direction of where the charger had been found.

"Thanks." The director sighed in relief. She began to check her messages before her gaze slid towards the couple. "You still haven't told me why you were here when Amy was locking up. Everyone _should_ have already went home."

Oliver put his hand over Mai's mouth before she could say anything. "We're already doing you a favor by promising not to tell Amy about the fact you left your phone here. If you'd like to hear what we were doing, you'd return it by not telling her what we're up to."

Nia pursed her lips in thought, scrutinizing the two of them. Not that it really mattered to her or not if they told Amy she had forgotten her phone, she honestly wanted to know what the heck they were doing there after hours. Besides, didn't they know who they were talking to? Their _boss_ who could fire them? As if she'd never let them tell her what she could and couldn't do, but nonetheless, at the moment, she'd string them along.

"Fine." she relented. "I won't tell Amy, now spill."

"She's going to get one of the actors hurt if she keeps up her streak of pranks," Masako said from the other side of the room. Everyone turned to them.

"You're awake!" Mai said. Masako completely brushed her off.

"We're attempting to show her just how dangerous and scary such pranks can be, and we're going to do it somehow, someway. I say you assist us, Miss Nia," the girl said.

"Why should I help all of you?" Nia demanded. "All you do is mess up my and Amy's production which we worked so hard to make."

"Do you think we do it on purpose?"

"Yes." Nia immediately deadpanned without a second thought. Every actor there had a little sweatdrop. They didn't do it on purpose _all_ the time.

"That aside, we need to show her that someone could get hurt if she doesn't stop. So we're doing this. It would be easier and faster if we had your help, but we could just as easily do without," Oliver said. Nia thought about it for a moment. Amy _had_ been fooling around and wasting everyone's time as well, along with all the actors. This might be a good chance to get her back for all the further headaches and frustration she caused Nia. Ahh, and also for the well-being of her employees. Of course.

The door to the set opened and Amy walked in with her clipboard and pencil. She walked to her chair, almost completely not noticing the odd group.

Almost.

"Woah, everyone's early? Did I sleep in or something?" Amy asked, looking at her watch frantically. Nia let out a chuckle.

"No, you're fine. I was just as surprised to see them so early as you were." she said, never taking her eyes off the three actors. Except for that brief moment when she flickered her gaze towards the still sleeping John.

"Oh," Amy sighed in relief. "Maybe we can start a bit early then? If we start soon we can end soon and everyone can have an early day all around!"

"I hope so, though the Takigawas and Lin haven't arrived yet." the younger director stated.

"Hmmm... but the first scene is the client showing Oliver and Mai around the property, right? And last I knew, the girl who was playing the client was right outside finishing up some yoga," Amy said. "I'll get her so we can start and get this thing done, okay?"

Amy ran off without another word. Nia stared after her until she was sure Amy was gone and wouldn't come back for a while. Then she turned towards the actors with a slight smile.

"Fine. I'll help you."

* * *

"This is a small house, isn't it?" Mai asked upon seeing the stage. She walked up to the front door and opened it.

Or tried to, at least.

"What's with this door?" she asked, trying to get it to open.

"It's just a prop, Miss Taniyama," Amy said, looking at her clipboard and waiting for the girl to get serious. Since they were early, she felt like she could let them have a _little_ leeway. Just a little bit, though. "Now, could you please get into position so we can get started on the scene?

"Fine, fine. Jeesh..."

XxX

"...And this is my niece, Ayami."

Mai gasped, a big smile crossing her face. "Oh my goodness! She is just so adorable!" she gushed before grabbing Oliver's arm excitably. "Isn't she, Noll?!"

XxX

"My brother is overseas on business, and we feel nervous about being the only ones in the house right now," Noriko continued. Mai blinked, but did not say anything. The directors held their breath, perhaps—

"Do you want to meet my doll? Her name is Mary!" Ayami shouted with a friendly air, running up to Mai with a smile. She held the porcelain doll for all to see.

The directors could not help but aww at how adorably friendly the child was being, even if it was not in the script.

XxX

"I'd like to have a word with your boss." Kana said as she stepped forward.

"My name is Kazuya Shibuya, and I own the company." Oliver stated blankly as he stepped forward as well. Kana looked at him with a mixture of surprise and guilt.

"Oh, I'm sorry..." Kana looked away before glancing back at the man. "You're just so young...and...and _handsome_..."

Mai's eye twitched. "Excuse me! But those aren't your lines! Besides aren't you a little too old to be saying that to him?!"

XxX

"Well, all right. Is this really the work of, you know, ghosts?" Kana asked, her eyes closed. Mai had a sneaking suspicion it was so she did not say something else that was stupid.

"It is our job to investigate that," Oliver said. A pregnant pause was supposed to happen in order for Mai to dub over later, but then—

"Ne, can we have some cookies now?" Ayami whispered to her aunt. No one got mad at her for it. Instead, she got a cookie and they reset the scene.

XxX

"Ah, you're sounding less and less like an amateur each day, aren't you kiddo?" Houshou asked teasingly. Mai looked towards the door to see him and his sister standing there. Then she grinned, as if forgetting they were filming.

"Why thank you!" She said proudly. "After work each day, I do research on this ghost stuff so I'll be more acknowledged it in and won't feel so stupid about saying my lines when it comes to all this ghost hunting stuff!"

Both directors sighed.

XxX

"Amateurish, shallow thinking," Oliver said, his eyes glued to the screen. Mai visibly flinched, but her boyfriend simply continued. "In cases of poltergesting where a human is the culprit, it's usually a young teen—an adolescent child. Noriko-san is twenty, too—"

"It's rude to tell a woman's age, you know!" the woman called from off stage. The directors turned to glare at her, so synchronized that the action itself gave everyone on stage the shivers rather than the glares themselves.

"Do not make me duct tape your mouth shut," Amy warned.

"You wouldn't!" Noriko-san said, though one look at her face showed her doubt. Amy smirked.

"I wonder..."

XxX

"Why does my boss have to be such a jerk all the time?" Mai mused dejectedly, her arms and her hanging down.

"I know what you mean." Noriko smiled softly as she held a plate full of snacks for little Ayami. Nia and Amy fumed.

"HEY!"

XxX

"Mai-chan, perfect timing," Noriko said. She was holding a tea tray covered by a pink muffler. "It's time for Ayami's snack. Care to tag along?"

"All right!" Mai squealed, pleased by the fact she had acted this scene out correctly.

"So childish..." Masako said from off-stage. Mai turned her angry eyes to the girl.

"Like you're any better, miss 'I-wish-I-had-my-leather'!"

"You weren't going to say anything about that!"

"All's fair in love and war!"

"Then war it is!"

The directors groaned. At least they had enough to cut where they needed to.

XxX

"Ayami-chan is so cute, isn't she?" Mai asked as the two climbed the stairs. "If you had to say, does she take more after her father?"

"Are you asking if my brother is a handsome man?" Noriko asked. Mai attempted to deny it, but the woman only continued. "Given that he's had two wives, I would suppose this fictional man is. I don't actually have a brother, so I wonder."

The woman continued to ramble and everyone could feel a dark presence emanating from Oliver's position. He was pinning Noriko with glares that would make most children cry.

"Why is Noll glaring at Noriko?" Ayami asked from her place off-stage. Kana sighed.

"He's jealous."

"Why?"

"Because he's a man."

"Oh."

XxX

"Hey, Ayami!" Mai exclaimed with a big smile as she poked her head inside the doorway behind Noriko. "I hope you're hung—"

"MAAAII!" Ayami giggled as she tackled the older girl into a hug. "Will you play with me?!"

"Awww! You are just too cute! I'm going to take you home with me!" Mai laughed, only to be cut off by her boyfriend.

"No." Oliver stated firmly. Pouting that he was ruining her fun, Mai turned towards him.

"Come on! Please!"

"You can't steal someone else's child, Mai." Oliver chided, his arms crossed. His girlfriend's pout deeper.

"Oh, fine..."

XxX

_Take One._

"Nice to meet you." Ayami said, walking towards Mai with a porcelain doll. She held out the doll's hand to Mai for her to shake, which she did.

"Oh, hello! And you are...?"

Ayami smiled. "Mary."

The directors only smiled at her cuteness. "Try again, Ayami."

_Take Three._

"Oh, hello! And you are...?"

"Melinda! Wait..." Ayami looked up in confusion. "That's not right... Is it Mavis or something? Or..."

Nia smiled, having to resist the strong urge to squeal. "It's Minnie, sweetie."

XxX

"My, Ayami, were you reading that book?" Norkio asked.

Instead of the shocked look the little girl was supposed to give, the child merely beckoned Noriko closer. Unable to resist obliging the cute child, she leaned in and heard what the girl had to say. No one else could hear, but—

"Who gave you that to read? It was supposed to be a picture book!" Norkio said, walking to the book. Her eyes scanned the sheet and she hit her head with her face.

"I got it from Miss Amy's desk!" Ayami said proudly. Everyone glared at the director.

"I didn't do anything! What is it, anyway?" the director asked.

"The records of every time we've goofed up on set, evidently," Oliver said, having come on-set to look at the paper. Everyone glared at Amy. She turned to her co-director.

"Help..."

XxX

"We need you to look at the light and not move around too much, okay?" Amy asked. She was on the balls of her feet and crouching so she was eye-level with Ayami. "Can Ayami do that?"

"Yes!" she cried out, happy as a clam. "Ayami will be as still as a statue!"

Amy shuddered, but otherwise smiled. "Good, then we can get this done! Go, Ayami!"

"Yay!" the girl cheered before jumping onto Noriko's lap. She sat perfectly still for the entire scene. Nia and Amy were so proud.

XxX

The only light present in the room was the red-ish glowing light that was pulsing. Everyone had their eyes on it directly.

"Focus your eyes on the li—" At that moment, the glowing light went out completely—again—causing Oliver to stop speaking. Everyone on-set was then left in the dark.

"Ahhh! I'm scared!"

"It's okay, Ayami!"

"The directors really should stop being so cheap and just buy a new one." Oliver observed.

"WANNA SAY THAT AGAIN?!"

XxX

"That'll be all." Oliver told the three girls. "Please try to spend your evening as you would any other night."

Ayami blinked and looked up at Noriko, tugging on her shirt. "Does this mean I can move now?"

XxX

Mai drew a circle on the table around the small glass vase. She stood and held her hands near her heart, as she was supposed to. She knew she was waiting for a dub-over that would happen later, but the only thing that was on her mind was—

"Don't break the vase, don't break the vase, don't break the vase—"

"Mai, you're thinking aloud again," Oliver said. Mai groaned.

"Seriously!?"

XxX

Mai, Oliver, and Lin heard footsteps running towards them from inside their 'base'. Soon Kana burst through the door panting.

"Come quick!"

The scene switched to everyone running up the stairs, only to get a view of Mai falling down flat on her face.

"Owww... Noll, help me..."

Masako snickered off-set. "I have _got_ to get a copy of that."

XxX

"Everything is slanted!" Mai said.

"What's going on? I thought you came here to get this under control!" Kana said.

"You're sure the little girl didn't do it, right?" Ayako asked. Ayami looked at the woman, hurt. And she started to cry. Ayako broke character instantaneously.

"I didn't do it!" she bawled.

"I know you didn't," Ayako said, trying to calm the girl down. "Those are just my lines, I'm sorry!"

XxX

"...Even I don't have that kind of strength." Houshou stated as he and Oliver looked at the carpet that was flipped over.

"I agree. If there was a human capable of this, I'd love to meet him." Oliver muttered. Nia waited a few moments, so the scene would be saved and no one would have to re-film it after all the hard work, before speaking.

"Why thank you, Oliver." she said a little proudly. "However, I am female—and I won't lie—I had a few people to help me move everything."

XxX

"It wasn't Ayami," the little girl said. Everyone's attention turned to the small girl in her pajamas, holding tightly to her doll. She was pulling off her distressed face very easily.

"Oh-huh, it sure wasn't," Mai said as comfort. When she put her hand on the girl's head, she got the urge to ruffle her hair.

The recorded scream that Amy played from off-set was the only thing that kept her from doing that.

"Haha! You jumped! Were you scared, Mai?" Ayami asked, eyes alight from being entertained. Mai, on the other hand, was glaring at Amy along with Nia.

"I _told_ you guys that there was gonna be a scream! It's in the script this time!"

Xxx

"What's wrong?!" Mai frantically asked Noriko as she stepped on to the set. However she stopped when she noticed the furniture was...upright like normal furniture would be?

The directors, talking among themselves about the last scene and if Amy _really_ did gave them a real script, slid their gaze over to them to see what the problem was. Their eyes widened in disbelief, and Nia jumped up.

"Alright," she glared at the crew members. "Who's job was it to flip the furniture over and why didn't they do it?!"

"I _was_ wondering what I was suppose to be screaming at..." Noriko muttered.

XxX

The entire crew—cast included—spent the next twenty minutes flipping over every piece of furniture. Once they finished, Hoshou sighed. "We done yet?"

"No, now we gotta actually film..." Mai groaned.

Everyone got back into their positions, running into the room. "Noriko-san!" Mai yelled. As expected, she waited a few moments with a horrific look on her face. Unexpectedly, she waited too long. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

"I was wondering when you'd notice."

"What's wrong?" Hoshou asked.

"We forgot to flip over the carpet!"

Everyone sighed. This was taking too long.

XxX

"I'll drive it out in the morning. Goodnight, everyone." Ayako said as she walked away, the air around her held confidence in her abilities.

"Where does she get all of that confidence from?" Mai wondered aloud. Houshou sighed, effectively messing up the scene.

"From a lot of pep talks and moral support... Even then it's kind of hard for her."

Nia rubbed her temples. "Mr. Takigawa..."

XxX

"What's wrong? You're thinking hard about something, huh? Is there something bothering you?" Hoshou asked. Oliver jolted slightly out of his pose as he was supposed to.

"Don't you think this response is a little too quick?" he asked. Hoshou scoffed.

"If it wasn't quick then the directors would lose all of their viewings," he pointed out.

"Mr. Takigawa, please do the scene properly!" the directors yelled.

"It's true, though..." Mai said. The directors were unsure who to brutally dismember first.

XxX

"If you ever watch those TV shows that cover famous haunted houses, then—" Houshou began only to be cut off by Mai.

"GHOST BUSTERS!" she fist pumped. Oliver sighed, shaking his head at the girl.

"Here we go again with Ghost Busters..."

XxX

"The fact that it's getting stronger instead means that something is pushing back," Hoshou said.

"You think so too, Bou-san?" Oliver asked. The actor turned to to face the black-haired boy and nodded.

"Yeah. The house has realized we're here, and now its angry," he said.

"Ne, it won't eat us like that monster house, will it?" Mai asked, looking around the room nervously. She seemed not to realize that she was in a perfectly safe set—well, safe as long as one did not make the directors angry—and that the movie she was talking about was completely fictional.

"Set up the scene again!"

XxX

"Ugh..." Ayako waved the little mini-mop top looking thing around with distaste. "D-Do I really have to use this again...?" she asked.

"Yes..." Nia replied slowly, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Why?"

"I just had so many problems with it the same time I had to use it... I swear this thing hates me..."

XxX

Mai and Oliver watched the screens, his body leaning over her as she attempted to look worried. Neither of the two noticed how she leaned back onto his arm, causing his head to come down mere centimeters from her own. They both seemed pretty content for watching an exorcism that could lead to cataclysmic failure.

"Miss Taniyama, Mr. Davis, would you care to be reminded that we are still filiming?" Amy asked. She was hitting her hand with her version of the script.

"As a matter of fact, I would mind. I'm kinda comfy here," Mai said. She leaned her head against Oliver's jaw.

"You know you're gonna pay for that later," he murmured in her ear. She giggled.

"Yeah, but it's fun to rile her up," she whispered in return.

XxX

"Naru," Mai announced as she handed him the clipboard with the temperature readings on it. "here's the...the, um... Ah, dang it! What is it called?!"

"Get your words out, Mai." Oliver teased, making his girlfriend pout slightly.

"Excuse me for my mind going suddenly blank on me!"

"Wouldn't be the first time..."

XxX

"Ayami-chan's room is a little lower, huh?" Oliver asked before he turned around. He began to type on the computer and Mai watched with interest over his—

"Delete that sentence right now!" Mai said, her face flushed. Oliver smirked which only riled Mai up even more. "Delete it! Delete it! Delete it!"

"Do we want to know is the question..." Nia mused aloud. Amy shrugged as the lover's tiff continued.

XxX

"So...the fire will be digitally edited?" Mai asked the directors.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Amy sighed. "Because we can't control real fire. Who knows what it could do."

"And because we can't trust any of the actors not to play with the fire." Nia muttered under her breath.

XxX

"Kana-san!" Mai shouted, rushing toward the woman. The orange flickering light—a prop to get the lighting right for digital editing later—flickered as a fire might.

"The light just turned on and scared me a bit," Kana admitted nervously. Mai sighed.

"You could have said your lines, you know," the girl grumbled. "The directors are already mad at us..."

"Oops..."

XxX

"So, we get to use a real fire extinguisher, but not a real fire?" Mai frowned as she questioned her bosses. Nia sighed, moreso to calm herself.

"Yes. And do not_ touch_ it!" she quickly yelled just as Mai went to touch the fire extinguisher that Houshou was holding. Mai pouted as she withdrew her hand.

"Awww..."

"And everyone, _please_ don't mess up this scene! If we have to retake it, then all of the actors will be cleaning up the mess instead of the crew!" Amy threatened. Everyone gulped, nodding, and carefully made sure to do the scene perfectly.

XxX

The mess on the coutnertop was in place and everyone either sat or stood around the set in exhaustion.

"Action!"

Mai sighed loudly, hunching her shoulders over. She opened her eyes and looked up a fraction of an inch. "Huh?"

A moment passed. "Naru! Someone's there!"

After Mai had shouted, Oliver turned to run towards the window. A friggin' banana peel was the only thing in his way and he managed to fall, narrowly missing the countertop.

"Oliver!" Mai shouted in worry. The boy waved his hand, ensuring he was okay. Mai turned on everyone else in the room. "Will you guys not eat bananas in here, please!?"

"But it's a good source of potassium..." Hoshou said.

XxX

Oliver, Mai, and Houshou stood outside the door peeking in. The brunette, however, leaned against it too much—which caused the door to move—making her fall to the floor.

"Oww..."

Oliver sighed before helping his girlfriend up, ignoring the chuckles coming from Houshou. "One more hit on the head and I'm taking you to the hospital."

XxX

"Ayami..." Noriko said, turning on the light. She entered the room and gently put her hands on the child's shoulders. "Ayami, were you just looking into the kitchen?"

"Yeah, Miss Nia and Miss Amy asked me to!" the child admitted proudly, smiling happily. No one could be mad at her for long.

XxX

"I hate it when people in movies don't _move out the way_ when something is obviously going to fall on you." Noriko said as she stared at the bookcase that was scripted to fall on her. "Just like my character! Seriously, I have a lot of time to move before it falls on me!"

Nia sighed in mild frustration. "Just do the scene..."

Really, it was bad enough the main actors messed up the scenes, but did the guest stars have to do it too?

XxX

The scene opened as it should have. All the actors were staring at the monitors for a few moments.

"You've botched things up again, haven't you?" Hoshou asked. Ayako turned to him and bit her lip as she ought to have, but...

"Miss Takigawa, there's no need to cry. Those are just his lines," Amy said, holding her head to prevent an oncoming headache. Nia sighed and provided the woman with a tissue.

XxX

As Oliver and Houshou shot their lines back and forth at each other, Mai turned her head towards the person who was speaking each time. Then she sighed and hung her head, rubbing the back of her neck.

"My neck hurts now..." she moaned. "Why do they have to do so much taller than me?!"

XxX

The group watched the footage, Mai looking particularly worried as they surveyed the empty room. A recording was being played over the footage, making it seem as though it were happening simultaneously.

"Incredible," Oliver said. Everyone in the room turned to him instantly.

"What?"

"I've gotten 450 reviews on my latest fanfiction," Oliver said, blinking. Mai sighed.

"Is this really the time to be checking your fanfiction, Noll?"

XxX

"I take it Ayami likes to keep to herself, huh?" Mai asked as she and Noriko sat on the bed, watching Ayami brush her doll's hair.

"Well, normally, she's a lot more going-out and cheerful, but...I think the directors have scared her a bit into thinking that if she does something wrong then they'll yell at her for it." Noriko replied quietly, though everyone still heard it due to the mini microphones everywhere.

"Oh, please. She's already messed up a few times and they haven't yelled at her yet. I doubt they will..." Mai grumbled. "And just because she's _sooo_ cute...which she is though..."

"Stop being jealous of a child, Mai." Oliver told her from off-set.

XxX

"Ayami-chan, here's your snack," Kana said with a smile. She walked into the room and set the tray down on the small table. "It's nice to have someone to play with, huh? What are you doing?"

Ayami held onto her doll and frowned slightly, acting shy and reserved.

"I really wish you would answer me..." Kana said. "Here, have a cookie."

She waited a moment.

"You don't want it?"

Ayami tried so hard to not say anything. She nodded her head and kept her mouth shut tightly.

"I see," Kana said. "Suit yourself, then!" And with that, she walked out of the room and slammed the door. Once she had left, Ayami reached out and took a cookie.

"Chocolate chip! Thank you, Miss Kana!" Ayami said, eating on the cookie happily. No one could be mad at her because they could cut the film later.

XxX

_Take One._

"Would it be all right with you if your aunt Noriko had a cookie?" Noriko asked Ayami as she kneeled down beside her. She took a cookie from the plate, bringing it closer and closer to her. Ayami was suppose to knock the cookie out of her hand, but it never came.

"Ayami, sweetie, you suppose to hit Noriko's hand to knock the cookie away." Nia told her with a gentle smile. The little girl looked the director with a conflicted, yet adorable, expression.

"But hitting is bad..."

_Take Two._

Once again Noriko reached out and grabbed the cookie. Not long after it was in her grasp, a small hand slapped her own, senting the cookie off flying somewhere unimportant.

"No!" Ayami yelled. "Those cookies are no good!"

"Oww!" Noriko hissed slightly as she shook her hand. "She's strong for a little girl..."

XxX

"Minnie told me so. She said there's poison in the snacks. She said that woman is an evil witch. She made dad her servant with her magic," Ayami said. She clutched to the doll and sounded close to tears.

"Minnie's not far off, you know?" Lin said from off-set. Every female on the set turned to glare at him simultaneously.

XxX

Everyone waited and waited for Mai to rise out of the bed that was on-set. She had her back turned towards everyone, including the camera, which made the directors frown.

"Miss Taniyama..." Amy called out. She waited several moments, but silence was the only thing that came from the brunette. Finally, Oliver decided to go and check on his girlfriend, silently praying she wasn't doing what he thought she was. Once he reached her and checked her over, he sighed in defeat and shook his head.

"She fell asleep..."

And cue facepalms from both directors.

XxX

Mai turned to face her boyfriend, who was offering a small smile in her direction.

"Wh-what's wrong?" she asked, shoving the covers off and leaning forward. However, she leant forward a touch too much and ended up falling off the bed. "Ow..."

XxX

"I can't believe she can blush on cue..." Nia muttered in amazement as they all watched Mai blushing with the blanket covering half her face. Oliver gave a small shrug.

"All she really does is think about that time when we—"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Oliver!" Mai yelled as she glared at him, seemingly having very good hearing. Amy frowned a bit and looked at Nia.

"Again, do we want to know?"

XxX

"Minnie told her so?" Oliver asked. His face showed the adequate amount of surprise. "Ayami-chan said that?"

"Mm-hmm. Isn't that kind of eerie?" Mai asked. Oliver brought his hand up to his chin in order to appear as though he were in deep thought. The camera passed over Mai's face for a moment.

"You look weird when you do that," she said aloud. Oliver frowned.

"I hope for your sake that you didn't just botch the scene."

"She didn't! She can call you weird all she likes!" Nia called from behind the camera.

XxX

"This is Ayami's doll, Minnie." Noriko said, then Oliver took the doll from her. "My brother bought it for her as a present right before they moved into the house with me."

Oliver stared at the doll for a few moments before looking up at the woman in front of him. "Did Ayami's behaviour change—" However, he cut off when he was blinded by a bright light.

"Go it!" Mai cheered as she grinned down at the camera in her hands. Who knows where she got it from. Oliver frowned, turning towards his girlfriend with the doll still in hand. Mai took another picture.

"Mai..." he warned, slowly walking to her. Mai paled slightly and began to back up.

"Come on! Like I'm ever going to have another opportunity to take a picture of you holding a doll!"

"Mai!"

XxX

"Give her back!" Ayami shouted from the doorway. She ran to Oliver and started to pull on his shirt. "Give Minnie back!"

She tugged on his shirt even harder. "Don't touch her!"

"Ayami, let go of Oliver's shirt please," Mai said, her tone worried. Ayami blinked and released the boy's shirt, allowing him to stand upright and breathe properly. He turned to Mai with an appreciative nod before turning to Noriko.

"I told you she's strong," she pointed out.

XxX

As Ayami pretended to slept with the doll, Mai and Noriko walked up to the bed. Then Mai slowly reached out to take Minnie away, but a little hand with a steel-like grip grabbed her arm before she could even touch the doll. Mai let out a screech just as Ayami's eyes shot open.

"Don't touch her!" she warned with a small glare. Noriko sweatdropped.

"Sorry... It's her nap time."

XxX

"So that's Minnie, huh?" Hoshou asked. "I'm surprised the little tyke let you borrow it."

"We kind of took it after Ayami-chan fell asleep," Mai said, a nervous look on her face. Everyone knew she was mentally replaying the scare she had received from the girl. She returned her vision to the monitors. "It seems kind of creepy, huh?"

"I guess."

The monitors gave off a small humming noise, typical of any monitor. Hoshou cast a glance over to the directors, who then sighed.

"You forgot your lines," Amy accused as she threw a script at the blonde man. He scowled as he flipped towards the back of the script for the scene they were on.

"It's not like any of this is easy..."

XxX

Mai glanced at Oliver as he stood up beside her. She frowned in confusion when she saw that he was glaring at the monitor rather than looking at it with interest and surprise. Then, leaning closer to the monitor, she could see John and Masako making faces at them in the reflection.

"Mr. Brown and Miss Hara! Remove yourselves from the stage!" Nia yelled. The day was almost over, she reminded herself in an attempt to stay calm, the day was almost over.

XxX

The doll began to shift on the bed, slowly inching its way down. It continued this way until the head jerked to the side—with the body still attached.

"See, Ayami? I told you the glue would hold," Noriko said. Ayami nodded happily.

XxX

As the doll's head disturbing came off and rolled towards the camera, Mai let out a horrifying scream. The three men next to her winced.

"Man..." Houshou rubbed his ears. "You've got a set of lungs, don't you?"

* * *

Amy walked around the set, picking up random stray items that were not in their correct places and generally minding her own business. It was a habit of hers to clean up after the actors left for the night. Nia had supposedly already left since she had been there at the studio before anyone else. But the girl would not mind that right now. If she arrived early, she was entitled to leave early as well. That was kind of how they worked sometimes. Amy hesitated before picking Minnie up off the ground. They would have to reshoot the scene with the doll on the bed anyways. She gently placed the doll on the bed and turned away, freezing instantly when she thought she heard something.

Her hand flew to her right pocket.

"Is...is anyone in here?"

Hearing no answer, she slowly took a few steps forward and looked around with caution.

"You almost blew our cover," Mai hissed.

"Seriously, who's there?" Amy asked. She pulled something out of her pocket, but the mischievous actors could not see what it was.

"Oh, great... Now what is she doing?" Masako quietly wondered, peeking over the 'thing' they were hiding. Amy looked around a moment more. While she did not feel completely safe, she knew that it was a good idea to continue what she had been doing and keep an eye on her back at the same time. She found a sock on the ground.

"Seriously?" she asked as she picked it up with her left hand. What on earth was a _sock_ doing there? And more importantly _how_ did it get there?

John threw another miscellaneous item on the ground for Amy to find. Sure enough, the girl did and her tendency to put things in order forced her to pick up the item. It was a stuffed bear this time.

"What...?"

Masako snickered lowly. "It's like she's playing fetch or something."

The girl was rewarded with a bear to the face. Mai and Oliver looked to see if Amy had spotted them, but it seemed as though she had thrown the bear at random. Amy sighed angrily, attempting to release the tension in her shoulders, as she went to retrieve the bear she had thrown in sheer frustration. Mai's eyes widened.

"She's coming!" she hissed. Oliver placed his hand over Mai's mouth and backed her away so they were both obscured by shadow. Masako only barely managed to hide when Amy came around and picked up the bear. She peeked around trying to see where John went without getting caught by their director. Her face paled when she realized he was barely hanging onto the top of the set, very close to slipping.

"John!" she whispered frantically. She needed to help him, but with Amy so close...

"Who's there?" the girl asked again. The object in her right hand was clenched tightly and Masako still had no clue as to what it was. "If you don't come out right now, whatever injuries you get are _not_ my fault!"

Mai glanced questioningly at Oliver, wondering what they should do. Oliver nodded and began to lead Mai away from the place. Amy was already heading in the direction of their 'surprise' unwittingly. Just allow her to walk a few steps more and she would have the scare of her life. That is if Miss Hara and John didn't mess up anything, everything should go smoothly as they had planned.

Amy turned the corner, looking for the bear. But what caught her eye was more petrifying than what she had expected.

Her shrill scream rang through the set, but no one was there to hear it save for the four evil actors who had done this to her in the first place.

* * *

**AmyNChan: TAT How could they!**

**Naruisawesome: *pats shoulder* It's okay, Amy-chan! Poor readers still don't know what it is that you're so afraid of, huh?**

**AmyNChan: Yeah, but you all will in the next chapter! Promise! *^_^***

**Naruisawesome: Please review~! ^.^**


	7. Chapter 7: Episode 5

The four actors' eyes widened in shock as they witnessed Amy's reaction to their prank.

The girl stood, unblinking and panting, as she kept her fist securely fastened around the pocketknife she had just lodged into the Styrofoam duplicate of an angel statue. The girl jerked the knife out, causing bits of unpainted white foam to tumble to the ground. The girl backed up warily, not taking her eyes off the statue as she exited the set.

When she left, she bolted, dead bolted, and chained the door shut. The actors blinked.

"We're stuck in here _again_?"

Mai groaned and repeatedly hit her head against Oliver's chest as if it were a wall. "I just want to get out of here and eat a decent meal and sleep in my own bed again!"

"Then get back to your trailers and I won't tell Amy you did that just now," Nia said, holding the key ring in her hands. The four looked to her like they would a savior.

"Nia!" Mai exclaimed with joy and relief. She ran towards the director and engulfed her into a hug before anything could be said or done. Nia immediately stiffened and made no effort to hug the girl back.

"Could you get off me?" she asked unsurely. "I don't..._do_ hugs every much." she added, just as Oliver stepped forward and grasped Mai's arms, pulling her away from their director.

"You couldn't have shown up sooner?" Oliver asked. Nia pursed her lips.

"I think you should be happy I came at all, or else you all would've been stuck in here for other night." she said. Oliver would not admit that her point was fair. "Anyway, get out of here and go home." Nia jerked her head towards the exit, and all of the actors scurried out of the building.

They did not need to be told twice.

* * *

The next morning, everyone seemed to be on time for filming, which was a relief to everyone, but...

"Amy, are you okay?" Nia asked after watching her friend check over her shoulder for the fifth time that morning.

"Yeah...fine..." Amy said, checking the shadows once more. "Let's just get started."

"But..."

"Look, everyone's here on time, let's not waste it."

"Fine."

* * *

Mai ran up the stairs, fully intending to follow Houshou, but as her foot reached the platform of the stairs, she was sent flying backwards. Nia sighed as Mai tried to stand up. They seriously needed to lock away the floor waxing cleaner so the actors wouldn't get it anymore.

The brunette glared over at Masako as she heard her snicker.

"I told you yesterday that it was war now!" the black-haired woman said haughtily. Mai dusted herself off, gritting her teeth.

"Fine. It's on now."

XxX

"What's going on?" Mai asked, looking at the doll who sat innocently on the bed.

"It's sitting, right there where we first saw it," Hoshou added.

"This is common," Oliver said from behind, causing Mai to jump even though the script did not call for such things. She massaged her heart.

"Seriously, give you a pair of glasses and you could have been a really creepy character..." Mai said.

"Please don't try to ruin these scenes!" Nia shouted.

XxX

"This house is filled with witches!" Mai heard a voice say behind the door. She leaned closer so she could hear it better.

"That's what Mr. Takigawa said too!" Ayami innocently replied, not realizing the meaning of it. All of the women in the building, excluding Amy, shot a glare over at Houshou. The man laughed nervously and slowly took side-steps until he was behind both Oliver and Lin who were standing beside each other.

"Hide me..."

XxX

"Ayami-chan," Mai said as she entered the room, trying to sound as though she were not trying to sound panicked. She closed the door behind her. "Were you just talking to someone?"

"Minnie," the girl replied, pointing.

But when the camera returned to the doll, it sported a monocole and had a cup of tea next to it. Mai blanched. "Who did that?"

Everyone pointed towards Masako, who merely smirked. "Two for me, Taniyama."

"Oh, it's on!"

XxX

"You said the kid claimed that it was Minnie who brought the invisible friends, didn't she?" Houshou asked Mai. The brunette gave a nod.

"Yeah..." she said quietly. Suddenly she gave a violent shiver. "This is giving me the creeps! I'm never going to look at dolls the same way again!" she complained, breaking character. Oliver sighed.

"It's not real, Mai."

Mai turned towards him, finger pointed at him. "You don't know that! It could've happened somewhere!"

XxX

"Could a spirit have possessed Minnie, and is pretending to be her?" Hoshou asked of Oliver. The young man stood from his chair to say his next few lines.

"Unlikely. This is the work of leprechauns."

"Mr. Davis! Be serious!" Nia said. Oliver looked towards her with an intense expression.

"I am. Hunting leprechauns is dangerous work, after all."

XxX

Houshou stood with his hands assembled together in the way they should be for the chant. He began saying his lines correctly to start with, but as he kept going, the words did not sound right to Nia's ears. She held out a hand for him to stop.

"Mr. Takigawa...what are you saying? Those are not your lines." she told him. The man shrugged, a bit defensively.

"I honestly have no idea. Have you really, and I mean_ really_, read the 'chant' I have to say? Because it sounds like gibbish."

XxX

Noriko screamed as she ought to have, leading Mai to turn around. She hurried to the other actress, who was in the correct position on the ground.

"Noriko-san, what's wrong?" Mai asked. The girl appeared worried, though she knew this was a part of the script.

"P-period cramps..." the girl whimpered. Immediately, every girl in the vicinity—excluding Amy and Ayami—winced in sympathy. Hoshou gave a low whistle.

"That's tough... Need an ibuprofen?" he asked. Noriko nodded and the man pulled a bottle out of his back pocket. Everyone gave him an odd look.

"When you have sisters, you learn to be prepared," he said as he gave the pills to the woman. She took them gratefully.

"Mr. Takigawa, I believe you have just earned respect points from every girl here," Nia said.

XxX

"Woah..." Mai muttered in awe as she and Houshou knelt down beside Noriko's legs. "The makeup artist did an amazing job on that..." she reached out and slightly poked the 'bruise'.

"I know, right? It's so real-looking and disgusting..." Houshou agreed.

Nia facepalmed at the two and did a side ways glance to Amy. The poor girl was still looking around her every few seconds, paranoid. This was going to be a long, _looonng_ day.

XxX

They were setting up the scene for Ayami, but the girl would not stop crying. Oliver was looking at Mai, Mai was looking at Oliver, both lost on what to do.

"Ayami, what's wrong?" Mai asked. The girl shook her head and continued to cry.

"Ayami, this is all fake, you're not supposed to cry until later," Oliver tried. The girl would not listen.

"Ayami," a new voice said. Even though she was still checking over her shoulders, Amy had come onto the stage with a bruise on her arm. Ayami's eyes widened.

"You have one, too!" she cried out, more tears spilling from her face. Amy shook her head and held out her arm for Ayami to see.

"It's makeup," she explained, wiping a portion of it off of her arm. It slipped away with ease. "See? Try wiping it off."

Ayami was tentative at first, but then tried. Amy's skin was revealed from underneath the bruise, looking perfectly fine. Ayami's eyes widened. "Is this what was on Sissy's foot?"

"The exact same. She's fine now, we just have to get her into her next outfit. She gets to wear a biiiig cast that we'll take off after shooting. Maybe you can draw on it before we take it off," Amy said. Ayami's eyes widened.

"Really?"

Amy nodded. "Yeah, but you have to go through this scene first, okay?"

Ayami wiped her eyes and smiled. "Okay! Ne, Miss Amy, what's behind you?"

Amy jumped a mile in the air and turned to find something nothing behind her. Still, better safe than sorry...

XxX

"Where is Minnie?!" Ayami asked Oliver as she sat with Mai on the bed, now free from any crying.

"Minnie's going to be staying with me for a little while. Now, I need you to—" Oliver stopped when a giggle escaped his girlfriend's lips. She quickly clamped a hand over her mouth as mostly everyone stared at her, or more like glared at her.

"Sorry, sorry. I suddenly just had an image of Noll having a tea party with Minnie and a bunch of stuffed animals in a pink room." she explained, though no one laughed except the little girl beside her who began to giggle as well. Oliver glared with a deep frown. He was not amused.

XxX

"Isn't that right?" Oliver asked harshly. Ayami took a sharp breath and began to cry on que. Mai instantly wrapped the girl into a hug as she was supposed to.

"Don't yell at her! You're terrible to make a little girl like this cry!" Mai accused hotly to Oliver.

"That's not what is the matter here," Oliver said. He frowned further. "That has got to be the worst excuse I've ever heard..."

"Hey, now I have to fake cry again and I can't draw on sissy's cast!" Ayami accused, the fake tears gone in a second. Instead, she was frowning at Oliver. "Get it right so I can draw on sissy's cast!"

"Geez, now the kid is on us..." Mai said, a sweat drop coming down her head.

XxX

"I'm sorry!" Ayami cried out, clinging on to Mai's shirt. "I'm sorry, Minnie said I wasn't allowed to talk to anyone!" she sniffled. "She said she'd hurt me if I made any friends! I'm sorry!"

Mai held the girl tighter and looked up at Oliver. "Must be feeling like a total jerk right now, huh?"

XxX

"And then, Minnie started bringing other friends over?" Oliver asked. Ayami nodded.

"Mm-hmm. There are lots of them. Children like Ayami," the girl responded. "They're all Minnie's servants."

Mai started giggling again. Both actors turned to face her, which is when she held out her hands in apology. "Sorry, thinking of Minnie Mouse having servants..."

No one giggled except for Mai.

XxX

"This is giving me the creeps!" Ayako shivered, her arms crossed. "This is exactly why I've hated dolls since I was little."

Houshou laughed. "Yeah, right. With your hundreds of dolls you had."

"Those were _Barbie_ dolls! There's a difference!"

"Yeah, yeah."

XxX

"There..." Noriko said, pointing to the wall. However, instead of frightful, she was giggling. Mai turned to look curiously.

_ Ayami needs more cookies._

Almost everyone laughed at the scene of the wall and Ayami scribbling upon it.

XxX

"Mai," Oliver looked towards his girlfriend. "I want you to stay with Ayami at all times."

Instead of the serious, understanding expression she was suppose to have, Mai just grinned happily.

"Sure, no problem! She's a little angel! Except when she's tired..." she mumbled the last part under her breath just as the little girl came on-set, running to her.

"Yay! Now Ayami has Mai all to herself!" Ayami exclaimed, hugging Mai's legs. Oliver only frowned.

XxX

"Why do I have to be the one to do this?" Ayako grumbled as she cleaned up the wall. The camera rolled for a few moments more before Nia replied.

"We'd have Miss Hara do it, but her character setup wouldn't allow it," she said. "And there's the fact that she's not technically in the house yet."

"I feel so safe," Masako deadpanned.

XxX

"...I know this must be hard on you," Mai told Noriko as they sat on the porch. "Especially with Kana leaving."

"I didn't _want_ to!" Kana yelled, casting a small glare towards the directors. This would be her last time with the cast members. "I was forced..."

XxX

"What can you do?" Noriko asked. Ayami almost skipped up to the two girls sitting on the porch.

"Sissy, does your foot hurt?" Ayami asked. The woman waved the appendage about gently with a smile.

"It's fine, Ayami, once you signed it, it started feeling better," the woman said. Before anyone could correct the line, the small girl's face lit up with a hope no one could stop.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yup," Noriko said, a smile on her devious face. No one could stop her maniacal plot.

XxX

"I'm going to go pick some flowers." Ayami told her aunt, then turned to Mai. "Wanna come with me?"

"Sure! Sounds like fun!" Mai exclaimed as she stood up.

"Make sure to pick some nice four-leaf clovers, Mai." Oliver commented nonchalantly. Mai immediately began to giggle while Nia groaned, shaking her head.

XxX

"Ayami-chan?" Mai asked cautiously.

"I can't pull my hands out!" Ayami cried out. Shocked, Mai began to pull the flowers apart, rooting for the source of the problem. She grabbed Ayami's wrists and yanked her out of the flowerbed. She then returned her vision to the garden. "Huh?"

There lay pieces of a small leprechaun doll. Mai turned to Ayami who was running towards Oliver.

"Can I have my candy now?" she asked brightly. Oliver nodded and handed the girl a small lollipop.

"Yaaay!"

Everyone in the room who was paying attention sweat dropped.

XxX

"Ayami, wait!"

"Mai! Go get her!" Noriko exclaimed franctically. "She's running straight towards Ayako! She's got cookies!"

"Cookies, cookies!" Was heard in the background—before Mai could to do anything—followed by a scream and the sound of someone being tackled to the ground.

XxX

"_That's_ how you're going to be filming underwater?" Oliver asked as he pointedly glared at the normal camera that was wrapped in ceran wrap. "That could easily leak."

"We're on a budget, wise guy," Nia said. Oliver wisely kept his mouth shut.

XxX

"Ayami!" Mai cried out as she ran to the water. She was suppose to leaped into it, but instead abruptly stopped in her tracks and stared at the water. Nia waited several moments before speaking.

"Is there something wrong?"

Mai shook her head and took a step back. "I can't just..._jump_ into the water!"

Although Nia herself hated water and could not swim, she was sure the brunette could. "It'll be fine."

"I'm not a very good swimmer, you know! What if I drown or something?!"

"Then I'll see to your funeral." Nia replied calmly. Mai's mouth dropped and turned towards her boyfriend.

"You better save me if something happens!"

XxX

"I've decided to move out of this house," Noriko stated while looking at Ayami. The girl was 'sleeping' wonderfully. "It might be best."

"Without consulting your brother?" Mai asked. Although it was an obvious question, it was not the one she was supposed to have asked.

XxX

"You should know that some poltergeists will follow you, regardless of where you may be... They're like leprechauns when you steal their gold." Oliver said warningly, evenly.

"Really?" Noriko kept up the horrified look despite the scene being ruined..._again_. Nia decided now would be a good time to start banging her head against the clipboard, and a paranoid Amy still kept looking around her cautiously, hardly knowing exactly how much their actors were messing up today.

XxX

"The doll itself is not the problem here," Oliver said as he faced the object that was sitting innocently in the chair. "A sitebound spirit in the house is only possessing Minnie."

"Yeah, but listen..." Hoshou said. He waited for a few moments and then turned to the directors. "Isn't there supposed to be a doorbell there?"

"Ms. Hara, Mr. Brown, could you pretend to be professional and wait for your que?" Nia asked, gritting her teeth. The two sighed, frustrated, as they parted. Masako then pushed the button and a doorbell rang throughout the set.

"Happy?" she asked.

Nia was about ready to blow her top.

XxX

"Hello, Mai. Nice to see you again." John said with a blank face, no smile present like it was suppose to be.

"Yeah. You too." the brunette replied back. Again, no amount of happiness came from her mouth. The three actors only stared at each other until Nia finally spoke up.

"Will you stop acting like children and do your job?!"

XxX

"What is this?" Masako asked, stopping on que. The other two turned to face her.

"Masako?" Mai asked.

"It's terrible..." the first girl continued. "I've never seen a ghost house as terrible as this one."

They waited for a few moments as they were supposed to before Mai popped off. "Of course you haven't. You're not a real medium and I bet you're too chicken to go into a _real_ haunted house anyways."

"What was that?" Masako asked, turning on Mai. John also glared at the girl, ready to enter the fray.

Nia was in sudden need of an advil.

XxX

_Take One._

As Mai and Masako walked through the doorway, the black-haired girl lifted her gaze to look at Oliver. She placed a sleeve-covered hand up to her head, getting ready to swoon over to Oliver before she dropped it.

"Ugh, I can't do this! I refuse!"

"Good!" Mai exclaimed. She took a few steps toward her boyfriend and leaned into him, placing an arm on his.

Nia hopefully looked at Amy for help, but help she did not receive.

_Take Three._

Masako lifted her eyes up to Oliver and this time proceeded to faint into his chest. She took a breath to say her lines, but ended up pushing the boy away with all of her might and switching over to John.

"Ew! He stinks!" the girl complained as she held onto her boyfriend. Mai was angered on her boyfriend's behalf.

XxX

"You okay?" Oliver asked Masako as she barely grasped on to his arms, her head tilted downwards.

"Of course I'm not! I hate doing this! It's revolting; I want to be with John!" she answered hotly.

"Then stop screwing the scene up and get it right then!" Mai fumed. Every second Masako clung to Oliver, the more her distaste for her grew.

XxX

"She's run away, has she?" Oliver asked, his eyes as expressionless as they should be. "She'll turn up soon. I'm sure of it."

"Cheh, they have you playing the mysterious one..." John muttered darkly. Noriko edged away from the young man slightly, her foot feeling cramped from the fake cast.

XxX

"We're picking up noise from the audio feed!" Mai stated worriedly from the sounds. Oliver let out a breath.

"Stating the obvious once again."

"These are my lines! It's not my fault I'm an airhead! Wait...what?" Mai frowned at her own confused words. Everyone let out a snicker.

XxX

"Those are children's voices," John stated. "There are a lot of them. How many are there?"

"Sounds like they're looking for Ayami-chan," Mai stated, looking about the room. At that moment, a loud thunk was heard, casting everyone's eyes towards the boom box that played the sound.

"WHO THE FUDGE LET THAT STATUE IN?!" Amy screeched as they saw a stone statue right behind the boom box. The girl quickly took off her shoe and threw it at the Styrofoam being, almost on instinct.

XxX

Oliver pulled the blanket away and revealed the face of the doll. Everyone gasped on cue.

"I noticed a bulge under the covers at the foot of Ayami's bed, and sure enough..." Ayako trailed, staring at Oliver and the doll in his arms. She smiled slightly and looked at Mai, who was not only her co-worker, but a new friend as well. "He looks good like that, doesn't he? With a baby in his arms?" she teased slightly.

Eyes widening, Mai blushed as she realized what Ayako was referring to. Oliver only blinked.

XxX

John placed the cross on the doll's forehead as he was supposed to and the connection of the magnets made the doll's eyes fly straight open.

"No!" Mai cried, turning away and latching onto Oliver's arm.

"Miss Taniyama, you're supposed to grab Mr. Takigawa's arm," Nia explained. Amy was gone, looking into something, she claimed. "Right now, the character 'Naru' is unattainable."

"Not for me!" Mai exclaimed, holding onto her boyfriend's arm tighter. She stuck her tongue out at the single director.

Without Amy to stop her, Nia went over to the actress and caused a huge fuss.

* * *

Mai rubbed her ears as she walked over to her boyfriend, John, and Masako. Nia had just finished giving her a long ten minute lecture, not that she even listened to half of it.

"Geez, she yells too much."

Oliver scoffed. "Well, if you didn't mess the scenes up all—" Mai glared and punched his arm. It didn't hurt in the slightest, but he decided to humor his girlfriend and stop talking.

"I don't need another lecture, thank you very much." she grumbled before changing topics. "You do guys know where Amy is?"

"Haven't seen her since she left during filming." John answered. Mai gulped, realizing something.

"You don't think she suspects something about last night, do you?"

Masako frowned. "If she does, and judging by her insane reactions to statues, we're going to pay dearly."

* * *

John was reciting the prayer as if he had known it all his life, when in reality he had only learned it a few minutes ago. Everything was going smoothly. The water was being flung everywhere and the doll began to shake as it ought to.

And then it sat up.

"Miss Nia, is it supposed to do that?" Oliver asked. The doll jerked its head towards him, then turned ninety degrees with a sickening crack. Oliver would have been a liar if he claimed he did not jump at that loud noise.

"What's it doing?" Mai asked cautiously, turning around. The doll faced her with its lopsided head and a thick red substance began to leak out of her eyes. Mai took a step back and gulped, somewhat frightened by the doll now. "M-Masako, i-it's not h-h-haunted, right?"

"I'm not a medium!" the actress screeched. The doll turned to her and began jerking itself off the table. Masako took several steps back. "J-John! isn't that holy water in your hand?!"

"I thought it was tap!" John exclaimed. The doll looked at him and flopped back onto the slab it had been resting on before.

And then it turned over, landing on John's foot, breaking into six pieces precisely.

While four of the actors/actresses expressed their own form of fear and unease, Hoshou continued to chuckle, holding Minnie behind his back as Ayako manned the controls.

XxX

_Take One._

"Why is it just the children?" Oliver questioned, more so to himself than to Houshou and John.

"Huh?"

Oliver turned around, his arms crossed. "If they were lonely, why not choose Noriko or Mai? Someone who could act as a substitute mother."

Houshou let out an abrupt laugh. "Notice how Ayako's not listed."

"Sh-shut up!" His sister yelled embarrassingly.

_ Take Two._

"...Why not choose Noriko or Mai?" Oliver said again before pausing. "So he thinks Mai is a motherly type? Interesting..." he brought his hand up to his chin. His girlfriend frowned off-set, getting ready for her cue.

"What's that suppose to mean?!"

XxX

"Are you sure that just by going to a hotel, we'll really be safe?" Noriko asked. On cue, Oliver passed her a piece of paper.

"This charm should protect you. And just in case, I'm sending Matsuzaki-san and John with you," Oliver said perfectly. Noriko took the paper.

"Thank you," she stated before looking briefly at the charm. She paused in her actions before giggling. Nia frowned.

"You guys were doing so well! What went wrong?" she griped. Norkio passed the 'charm' over to the director.

_Leprechaun Charms, to keep greedy green beings from your lucky charms!_

XxX

"Mai, are you going to come with us?" Ayami asked hopefully. Mai gave an apologetic smile as she leaned forward towards the girl, placing her hands on her knees.

"I can't, I'm sorry."

Ayami pouted and turned her gaze towards Oliver with a small, adorable glare. "No fair! He gets to be with Mai whenever he likes! Why can't Ayami?!"

Oliver could only blink at the child's obvious jealousy.

XxX

"The temperature is starting to drop," Koujo said, his face impassive as it ought to be. "Particularly around the bed. It's already down two degrees."

"Wait, is he using Celsius or Fahrenheit?" Ayako asked.

"Celsius. Only America uses Fahrenheit," Mai groaned. While she was glad it was not her ruining the scene, it meant she had to prepare her 'holy crap I'm so scared' face all over again.

Acting.

XxX

"What the—?! I've got multiple apparitions in here!" Houshou said as he began to hit at the air, which they'd digitally edit the spirits in there later. Suddenly Mai let out a laugh that caused the others to turn towards her with a glare.

"Sorry..." she muttered with a smile. Houshou sighed.

"No, don't blame her. I wasn't really giving it my best anyway—I felt ridiculous just swatting at nothing."

XxX

"Tomiko..." a voice groaned from behind Hoshou. "Tomiko...my...child..."

"THAT LADY IS SCARING AYAMI!" the child actress cried out loudly. The woman—who was being raised by a silent device hidden beneath the floor and behind fog machines—turned to the child with a distasteful frown.

"You aren't even in this scene," the woman snapped. Ayami's eyes began to water and she began to bawl loudly.

"THAT LADY IS MEAN TO AYAMI!"

* * *

"Do you guys know where Amy went halfway through filming?" Mai asked of the others, who had convened for an urgent meeting.

"No...and it seems not even Nia knew either. I heard her asking some of the crew members where she is." Masako frowned, glancing around her for any signs of the missing director.

"Maybe she went home. We did scare her a lot." John gave a proud smirk.

"You think so?" Mai asked. "That means we'll have to up our game on messing with Nia if Amy isn't here."

Oliver scoffed at her flawed plan. "And have her tell Miss Amy about what we did? Getting her to help us that time basically gave her immunity against our attacks."

"Oh..." Mai frowned. "Well, if we sleep on it maybe we can come up with an idea?"

"Doubtful with your harebrained thoughts," Masako snubbed. Mai scowled.

"Why you little—" Mai suddenly slapped Oliver's arm, at a loss of words to retort to Masako. "Do something!"

"Why should I waste my time on someone so obviously desperate for attention as her?" Oliver asked. He slid an arm around Mai's waist. "I have more important things to pay attention to."

Oliver's comment only ended up offending the black-haired girl and angering her boyfriend.

"_Desperate for attention_?! It's that airhead desperate for attention all of the time." John said, referring to Mai. "You don't see Masako screwing up scenes all of the time."

"It could be that she's not in them. Or not a very important part of the series, at least," Oliver combated, angered by the jibe at his own girlfriend. "The only position that's worth mentioning thus far is to play foil to Mai's character."

"Yeah? Well, at least Masako isn't some kind of half-baked actress." John shot back.

"Are you certain? All she's done thus far is swoon onto me—which I severely disapprove of—and make half-baked warnings about an obviously haunted house," Oliver snipped. The boys continued to volley at each other while their girlfriends watched, each impressed with their own.

"That's her _role_, not her real self, genius."

"Are you so certain?"

"Like she'd _want_ to be around the likes of you—"

"What are you people _still_ doing here?" a bored voice came from behind their semi-circle. They all looked behind them to see Nia with her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

"We—" started Mai, but she was soon cut off by the director.

"You know what? Forget it." Nia said as she held up a hand. She continued after she lowered it. "I've had _another_ long day thanks to all of you, so just go to your trailers or whatever. Just leave the building before I decide to leave you in here."

Having spent the last few nights in the studio, the four quickly left, each heading to their own trailers as swift as humanly possible. They'd much rather not spend any more time there than they had to.

* * *

"How early should we be up tomorrow?" Mai asked. Hers and Oliver's trailers were right next to each other, on the other side of the lot from John and Masako. A luxury she was thankful for.

"Filming starts at six thirty." Oliver supplied. "So, knowing you, you need to wake up at before five." he smirked.

"Mou... that's so unfair..." Mai groaned. Her boyfriend chuckled as he drew her in for a kiss.

"Good night, Mai." he said as they pulled away.

"Good night... _Naru_." Mai teased. Then she giggled when she saw Oliver's frown. "Kidding, kidding! Night, Noll." she gave him one last peck on the lips before going to her trailer.

* * *

Mai walked to her miniature shower. Not as large as the one at home, but it was still a shower and gave off relatively warm water when she walked in. With this thought, she stepped into the tub and stripped bare. She turned on the faucet.

"AAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"Do you think that brat found a spider or something?" Masako asked of her boyfriend. John shrugged.

"Good riddance to her."

* * *

After saying her goodbyes to her boyfriend later on, Masako walked into her trailer. She dropped her bag and script on to the small table with a huff.

"I need something water," the girl announced with a frown. She pulled out a mug and put it in the sink beneath the faucet. She turned the handle and frowned when the water did not flow. "What the—"

The water she had expected was currently dumping itself onto the ground outside the trailer. This water slipped and dripped down the hill until it traversed the short distance to John's trailer.

* * *

It wasn't too long after Oliver got into his trailer did he heard a very loud scream coming over from Mai's. Concerned, he immediately tried to see what on earth was happening to see what his girlfriend scream. _Tried_ being the key word.

"What the—" he grunted out as he shoved with all of his might against the door. It would not budge for him. He threw his weight against it once more.

Nothing.

Frowning, he ran a hand through his hair impatiently as he stared at the door. He guessed calling Mai was his only option now. He pulled out his cell phone and brought her up on speed dial. The tone caught his ear three times before it changed to a different noise.

_"Hey, this is Mai. You've reached my voicemail, but leave your name and number and I'll get right back to ya!"_

Oliver mentally cursed. Mai? Not answering her phone right away? Something was definitely wrong.

But there was nothing he could do aside from continuing to beat the door down as its hinges were on the exterior of the trailer. He refused to give up.

* * *

Walking into his trailer, John smirked as he still recalled the scream that the airhead had let out several moments ago. He didn't much care about why she screamed, but it was amusing that she did.

The biker man who was being shoved into a priest's lifestyle only wanted to sleep the day away. Given that shooting started early tomorrow, he felt like he deserved a full night's rest. He fell gracelessly into his bed and into a fitful unconsciousness.

A few of the heavier rocks fell to the floor from his mattress.

* * *

**AmyNChan: Yus! I got my revenge! XD**

**Naruisawesome: Ehh, Amy-chan?**

**AmyNChan: Yeah?**

**Naruisawesome: How did you discover it was them who pranked you?**

**AmyNChan: ... o.o It's a secret?**

**Naruisawesome: *shrugs* Okay lol. Please review everyone! ^_^**


	8. Chapter 8: Episode 6

The next morning, the four actors all walked into the studio—well, _dragged_ themselves would be a more appropriate word. They looked as if they hadn't slept a wink last night.

"What the hell was all of that?" Mai groaned out. "Cold shower, no water anywhere else, jammed door, rocks in the _freaking bed_!"

"And why did_ I_ get it the worst?" John mused as he rubbed his shoulders and cracked his back.

"Maybe because you're a complete jerk?" Mai asked innocently. John glared harshly at her.

"At least—"

"Wow, you guys are here early," a familiar voice stated from the director's chair. There, seated with jeans, a tee shirt, and a light jacket sat Amy, her bare feet crossed in her chair. She chuckled with a grin. "Couldn't sleep or what?"

The condescending tone that laced her voice made all of them stop in their steps. Slowly, they turned their gazes toward the woman. The girl sat patiently with her clip board, unfazed as she waited for whatever excuses the actors would dredge up in their half-awake states.

"Don't tell me you're actually tired of filming. We've got another episode to wrap up this arc. Of course, if you can't hack it, then..." Amy trailed off. Mai couldn't stop the twitch in her eye. Amy... Amy _knew_ what they had done to her! She just had to from the way she was acting towards them, especially after she was so paranoid yesterday. And Amy had to had been the one who sabotaged their trailers. That's why she had disappeared half way through filming the day before. There was no mistake about it.

"No," Mai heard Masako say with gritted teeth. Obviously she had come to the same conclusion as the brunette. "We're fine."

"Good, then you might wanna take your places. Wouldn't wanna waste the extra time you've given us to shoot by being up early," Amy said, gesturing for them to take their spots.

Another day of shooting was about to begin.

* * *

"Damn, I guess he can't see it." Oliver cursed. As scripted, Mai gave a gasp before sprinting to the door. "Mai! Wait!"

However, right as she opened the door, Mai nearly ran into the unexpected Nia on the other side. The director jumped and made a sound of fright, having not excepted something like that to happen. She had decided to go through the door and walk through the set instead of going all of the way around it, showing just how lazy she was.

"Eh?" Nia blinked in surprise. She looked around at everyone, realization coming to her, and slowly her mouth dropped. She immediately sought out Amy and glared accusingly at her. "You started filming without me?!"

XxX

"You fool! Stay back!" Hoshou shouted as he looked over his shoulder. Mai-as scripted-paid him no heed and turned to face where she had 'seen' the ghost woman.

"She's not there..." the actress stated. "But she showed up on the camera!"

"Obviously my character is blind and your character had to make sure of that for herself," Hoshou complained. He turned to the directors. "Why did you end up waking us up so early anyways? We could have done this later!"

XxX

"Mai!"

The brunette brought her hands up to her neck and began to act as if someone was choking her, gripping at nothing and making wheezing sounds. Houshou quickly—and clumsily—said the chant; Mai gave a breath of relief as the 'hands' disappeared from her neck.

"Hmm." Amy frowned in distaste. "Miss Taniyama, that was really...pathetic. Do it again and make it more believable this time."

Mai glared. It seemed Amy was going to be harsh on them today.

XxX

"Whaddya mean it's not going to break?" Mai asked. Amy yawned.

"The camera isn't pointed at the hole when the ground breaks, it's pointed at you. We'll be playing effects and watching your reactions, so please make them good," the director said, handling a crowbar. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to rip up some floor."

"I think she's still mad..." Mai muttered as the director went off.

"Mad at what?" Hoshou asked, eyeing the young girl with suspicion.

"Nothing!" she said hurriedly, chuckling nervously.

XxX

"...must be pretty old." Houshou finished saying his lines.

"There's a spirit of a woman here." Masako began calmly, her kimono sleeve hiding her mouth as it should, and Mai turned towards her. "She's lurking deep down inside the well, calling out for Mai's soul."

The brunette became alarmed, her eyes widening a bit in surprise. "Eh?!"

"She keeps screaming in pain and only wants to be free! She keeps saying, 'Why won't you free me, Mai?! Only you can; I need to devour your soul!' over and over again!"

Mai cringed, covering her ears. This show was seriously going to give her nightmares. "Stop it!"

"Ha." Masako gave a snarky laugh. "Three points for me, Taniyama."

Mai glared.

XxX

"...but the truth is she is anguished and sad and says she can't stand this anymore," Masako stated, her eyes glued to the hole in the ground as if something horrifying lay within. Mai turned to the well as was scripted, peering deep into its depths. She rose her hand to her face.

"It would be bad if we fell in, right?" she asked.

"Very bad," Amy stated, keeping her temper in check. "So make sure you don't make the directors angry, otherwise they might push you in."

Mai gulped and tried to take a step away from said hole. She froze under the glare she was receiving from the two in charge.

XxX

"Now we're getting somewhere." Oliver stated rather dully as he walked passed Mai and Masako. The brunette slightly frowned at her boyfriend's effortlessnes at how he said his lines properly. But nonetheless, she said hers as she was supposed to.

"Naru...? What are you—"

"I'm going back to sleep." He interrupted snappishly after dozing off a few times during Masako's lines. "Thanks to _someone_ I hardly slept any last night." And with that, he closed the door behind him.

Aside from Amy, John, and Masako, everyone's eyes shifted from the door to Mai at the man's words. The girl gave a sheepish laugh.

"He's not really a morning person..."

XxX

"Geez! Take care of things? I don't even know what that means!" Mai yelled, her fists flying up and down to the side. Her hand connected with something and she turned to her left.

"Unless you're ready to die, I suggest not hitting me in the next take," Masako muttered darkly.

"Well, that's how I'm blocked! Maybe if you didn't hover around me you wouldn't get hit!" Mai yelled.

"I'm standing where I've always been standing, you're just too wild!"

"Says the biker girl!"

"That's it!"

The fight took twelve minutes to properly break up.

XxX

"Okay, guys, who wants to go?" Mai asked Ayako and John with a smile.

"Yeah, which one of you two is up for the challenge?" Houshou grinned along with Mai as they faced the other two. "I'm warning you, it's intense! Whoever messes up their lines has to face the two fearsome dragons!"

Nia glared harshly at the man. "What's that, Mr. Takigawa?!"

XxX

"Ahhh! Something _touched_ me!" Ayako suddenly yelled out, looking around her. Nia frowned a bit.

"You got your lines right, but that was a little too dramatic..."

"No! I mean something _really_ touched me!" Ayako exclaimed frantically. "There it is again!"

"Eh?!" Mai, unsure of what was really going on, shot up along with Ayako. Due to the sudden movements, something fell to the ground from Ayako's costume. Once they saw what it was they fell to their knees with a sigh of relief.

It was just a spider.

XxX

"Ayako!" Mai screeched as Amy pulled with half of her might on the young girl's foot. The director had an elbow-length green glove on so that way it might be edited away later.

"Ma—"

"OW!" the actress yelped, tugging her foot away. She glared at the director. "Do you have to pull so _hard_?"

"It's not my fault you're difficult to move. The Takigawa siblings didn't wax the floor this time."

"So the one time we decide not to prank the studio and we get in trouble for it?" Hoshou complained form the side. Amy shrugged.

"Your repetitive nature comes in handy sometimes."

XxX

"Mai!" Lin exclaimed, running towards the girl. "Grab my hand!"

Both of the actors held their hands to each other, but their hands accidentally knocked into each other. Nia frowned.

"You're not actually suppose to touch hands..."

Mai sweatdropped. "Sorry, the timing was off..."

XxX

"Why do I have to help out?" a young girl whined as her sister put on the yukata. Masako grit her teeth.

"I told you, if you help me out with this job I'll take you to the candy store later."

"I wanna go now!" the girl complained. "I don't wanna play with a stupid ball!"

"If you don't I'm telling mom," Masako said.

"No!" the girl shouted as she ran from her sister. The obi was not on correctly. Masako spent the next fifteen minutes trying to catch the child.

Amy and Nia merely watched as the girl had such troubles with her sister. They passed the popcorn back and forth.

XxX

"So, the woman committed suicide because her daughter was kidnapped and killed?" Ayako asked her brother quietly as the scene was being filmed. Hoshou nodded.

"Can't say I blame her," the man said as the actress began to run away from the camera.

"Tomiko!" the actress shrieked.

"Still, what about a husband or her parents? Why would she kill herself if she had them?" Ayako questioned. Hoshou shrugged.

"Maybe they weren't in the picture. Parents die and maybe she was raising Tomiko-chan alone."

"Maybe..."

"Wow, a scene went well without a hitch," Amy said, surprise coloring her tone. She turned to the duo of siblings. "You're up, Miss Takigawa."

XxX

_Take One._

"Oh, thank goodness you're okay, Mai!" Ayako exclaimed in relief. "Just sit tight; Lin's coming right down to help you!"

Said man appeared, handling a rope, as he was getting ready to throw it down. However, it accidentally slipped from his grasp and fell into the hole. On top of Mai.

"Hey! Watch it!"

_Take Two._

"Lin is coming to help you, right now," Ayako said. Mai continued to look up. When the rope appeared, she looked everywhere except said rope.

For about a whole minute.

"You're only supposed to look around for a few seconds," Nia said, glancing into the hole.

"But the voice over..." Mai protested.

"It'll be fine," Amy said. "Just don't take so long to look around. You'll be able to fit the lines you need to in the time you give yourself. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Cool, let's try it again!"

XxX

"Just 'some man', huh?" Ayako mused after Mai finished her lines. "Houshou and I were talking earlier about this, but maybe that man was actually the little girl's father?" she pondered. Mai gave a thoughtful look.

"Maybe..."

Nia sighed. "Wondering about the child's background isn't necessary."

"But—"

"It. _Isn't_."

XxX

"..and threw herself down the well," Mai finished somberly. Ayako took a moment to look thoughtful before going to her next line.

"You're not even a spiritualist," she said as she stuck a bandage on the sole scrape the girl had on her knee. "What meaning could your dream have?"

She slapped the bandage on and Mai winced on cue. After a moment, Ayako continued. "Seriously, the character falls down a well and walks away with only a scratch..."

"Miss Matsuzaki, please wait until after shooting for such comments," Amy groaned.

"Lin missed his line, though," the actress protested. Everyone turned to him.

"I'm not accustomed to actually having lines as of yet. I've been severely excluded from most scenes."

"He's got a point," Mai said.

XxX

Mai laid down on the couch with a sigh. She stared off into space for a bit and began letting her eyelids droop for the voice over to have enough time. The couch really was quite comfy. A little longer and she might even fell asle—

"Alright, Miss Taniyama!" Nia's voice made her snap her eyes open. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Mai immediately went into an upright position. "Um...no?" Surely she did the scene right.

"Mr. Davis? Your boyfriend? Remember him? Go get him."

"Oh." Mai nodded and stood up before frowning. "You always talk about me messing up a scene, but didn't you just mess that one up?"

The director gave a bitter smile. "Unlike some people, I actually waited until the scene was complete before making a comment. Now go get Mr. Davis!"

XxX

"This is really too bright. Does she have to dream such vivid colors?" Oliver asked as the lights turned on around him. They were all attempting to deal with his grumpy I-just-got-woken-up mood.

"You keep this up and I swear I'm docking your pay," Amy growled. "Now act like you're a freaking cheerful little ghost, all right?"

'Twas the staredown of the century.

XxX

"Lin, play back everything you've recorded thus far." Oliver ordered as he came up behind the man.

"Right."

The directors closed their eyes and crossed their fingers hoping—no, _praying_ that this would go smoothly. But when they actually saw the previous scenes that had filmed while Oliver was sleeping playing on the monitor, they groaned. How did he even get the film?!

"You dropped a rope on Mai?" Oliver frowned deeply at the man.

"It was an accident, I assure you."

XxX

"Sup?" Hoshou asked from his place in the lineup, a grin on his face.

"What do you mean 'sup?' What are you doing here?" Mai yelled, nearly frantic with faux anger. "You're supposed to be with Ayami-chan, aren't you?"

"Naru said she was fine," the same man from before said, resting his hands on his hips with a satisfied look.

"So we came back," John finished, a sparkling smile on his face. Masako looked on with barely concealed rage at Mai.

"Are you sure she's okay?" Mai asked, turning to her boyfriend.

"She's fine," he said. The camera took a moment to get his face into center view before he opened his eyes dramatically. "This will all be settled tonight."

A few moments passed before Nia signaled for the camera to stop shooting. While everyone celebrated the fact that a shot had gone off without a hitch, Oliver took another look at Lin's left hand.

_ Interesting..._

XxX

"Miss Hara, can you see what the spirits are doing?" Oliver asked as everyone was in a semi-circle around him, except for Lin who was in the chair at the computer. Just as the black-haired opened her mouth to say her lines, a little girl came running on to set, ignoring the protests of the crew members behind the camera.

"Masakoooo!"

Said girl blinked in surprise. "Mariko? What are you still doing here?!"

Nia frowned, slightly shaking her head and leaning towards Amy. "She's not a very good sister, not knowing where her little sister is." she said, and Amy only nodded in agreement.

"Mom can't pick me up yet!" Mariko whined at having to stay in this boring place even longer. Masako rolled her eyes.

"Well, go find something to do! I'm working here!"

"Like what—woah..." the child stopped and blinked, catching sight of Oliver. Then she turned back towards her sister. "That guy is _way_ cuter than _him_." she said as she pointed to her sister's boyfriend, John, with a small amount of distaste.

Masako and John fumed, Mai smirked in victory toward Masako that even her own little sister thought her boyfriend was better than John, and Oliver...well, Oliver didn't know what to think.

XxX

"We're going to get that woman to take Tomiko back," Oliver said, his face devoid of emotion. Everyone shifted into a surprised countenance on cue.

"But Tomiko-chan was..." Mai said, trailing off on the last word as she ought to have. What did the character think she was going to say? Killed? Murdered? Abducted? She let her arms fall slightly as she thought.

"...which is why..." her boyfriend said, jarring her back into the scene. She came back a little more heated than rehearsed.

"You don't mean Ayami-chan!" she yelled. Everyone glared at the young man for a moment, suspense on every pensive face.

"The woman is the problem," he said simply.

Amy knew he had forgotten a line, but she figured this would key in to a greater character development later down the road. She looked to Nia who nodded. They would leave this scene as acted.

XxX

"Yes, but this woman is dangerous! She nearly killed Mai when she pulled her down into the well!" Ayako warned in concern. She opened her mouth to continue saying her lines, but she was interrupted by the one and only.

"_Killed_ is being used too strongly... I mean my character only came out with one little scratch!"

Nia let out a frustrating breath. "Miss Taniyama, who are the directors here?"

Mai looked towards her with a small frown. "You two are of course."

"And who signs your pay checks?"

The brunette's shoulders slumped, instantly knowing where this was going. "You do..."

"Then shut up and only speak when it is your lines." Nia smiled sweetly despite her dangerous tone.

XxX

"If we botch this, we could be turned into site-bound spirits ourselves!" Hoshou said, a fist in front of his face. He and Oliver glared at each other with formidable force, neither backing down from their scripted war.

Then, Oliver turned away. "It's up to you whether or not you believe." He began to walk towards the door, each step sturdy. "Mai, if you want to leave too, feel free."

The young man walked out of the room, appearing not to have heard Mai's soft line. Lin soon followed him, walking quickly before he, too, exited the room. The Chinese man had to duck to ensure he would not hit his head on the low ceiling.

"...he had to duck..." Ayako finally said after a few moments of intense quiet. The cast murmured in agreement. How could one person be so freakishly tall?

XxX

"Ugh, you poor thing, Mai. He's quite a handful, huh?" Ayako said with an appropriate amount of sympathy for the girl. Mai's shoulders slumped.

"You have no idea..."

"Those aren't your lines!" Nia abruptly yelled, scaring everyone to death.

"Eh?! I thought they were!" Mai faced the director with wide eyes. She was sure that line was in the script. Nia shook her head vehemently, and when the actress still protested it was, she went on-set with a script in hand and showed the girl. "Huh... I must have just kept saying that to myself whenever I read the script that I thought it was an actual line..."

XxX

"Say, what's the purpose of pasting up all these charms?" Mai asked of Ayako, who was standing beside her in her miko outfit.

"Well, it's to—"

"To keep them from leaving this house," Oliver stated from the top of the stairs. The two girls faced him at once.

"Naru!" Mai said, surprise coloring her tone.

"However, we will leave the demongate open, and scatter the spirits," he continued as though he had not heard her. He began to walk down the stairs.

"Whatever," Ayako grumbled. "How can you act like such a big-shot?"

"Because he's Naru," Mai stated, but to her surprise, Hoshou joined into her little chorus. Mai turned to the man in surprise, but kept going with her lines. The scene continued and it would _not_ be her fault if they stopped.

"Do you think we'll have to redo that scene?" Nia asked. "I kind of liked them doing it in synch like that..."

"I don't think we'll have to do it over," Amy replied. "It was kinda funny, but not out of place."

XxX

"Wait a minute, but who's going to conduct the exorcism?" Houshou asked thoughtfully. After a few moments he, Ayako, and Mai all displayed the right amount of recognition and surprise.

"You don't mean...?!" they all exclaimed together. Oliver looked up from the black notebook he was supposedly, briefly reading and gave a smirk at the others.

"Hmph."

"...Miss Taniyama, stop looking at him with that dazed look!" Amy yelled only a moment later. Thankfully the cameras weren't suppose to switch to the brunette or else the scene would have been ruined. "And—...Nia?!"

"Huh, what?!" the younger director suddenly stood up straight, snapping out of the same 'dazed look' Mai had on as they were staring at Oliver. Seeing the pointed look Amy was giving her, she could only look away sheepishly, clearing her throat awkwardly. "Sooorrry..."

XxX

As per the script, John began to sprinkle the bottled water around the set and started on the Lord's Prayer. The girls watched him for only a moment when Masako gripped onto Mai's arm.

"Masako?" the brunette asked, attempting valiantly not to wince. This girl had scary fingernails!

"Purifications are addressed to the spirit to break their hold to this world," the black-haired girl said, averting her eyes from her boyfriend. "However, this is something only a medium can do."

With a gasp of realization, Mai turned to Oliver. Masako mirrored her actions before continuing. "Naru is not a medium. He intends to perform an exorcism."

"What's the difference between a purification and an exorcism?" Mai asked, turning to Masako with the saddest look she could muster. Masako turned away from Oliver.

"Purification involves persuasion, and changing the spirit's ways," Masako said. "Exorcism means to kill them by force."

"Kill them?"

"I wish he wouldn't exorcise her. At least, not before my eyes..."

Mai waited a few moments, reciting the voiceover line in her head as she had been doing for most of the time. Then she tried to fling her arm forward in order to be "pulled". But—

"Hey, Masako, you're supposed to let go of my arm now!" Mai said, frowning. The medium frowned.

"It's not my fault you couldn't break my hold," she said. "Perhaps you are simply too weak after all."

"What was that!?"

Amy wasted no time in using her books to give them both a good chop on the head. As the girls held their heads in pain, the blonde smiled. "Let's get back to filming now, okay?"

The cast muttered curses under their breath as the director went back to her seat. "From the top!"

XxX

"Hey, wait, why don't you go ahead and cleanse the children's spirits now?" Mai questioned, panic lacing her voice.

"Impossible, not as long as the woman's spirit is here!" Masako replied back, her gaze supposedly looking at the spirits that were 'flying around'. Suddenly she looked straight before her hands flew to her mouth and she let out a sharp gasp. Apparently it was a too sharp of an intake of air though because the next second she began coughing violently, her hands then going towards her chest.

Mai frowned in concern while awkwardly patting Masako's back. Though she hated the girl as much as she hated her, she didn't wish death upon her.

Once Masako's coughing fit was under control and she began to breath normally again, she shot a glare at the directors from her position on the floor. "You could show more concern for one of your actresses choking to death!"

Nia waved her hand dismissively as she held her phone with the other, her eyes never leaving the screen. "You're fine now. Shoot the scene again."

"Nia..." Amy sweatdropped.

XxX

The platform rose slowly, pushing more fog out of the hole. The actress stood upon the platform, head hung in exhaustion and the makeup making her look positively frightful. "Tomiko," she repeated. Over and over.

"Tomiko..."

"Tomiko-san is not here!" Masako shouted at the woman, a tinge of desperation in her voice. "Those children are not Tomiko-san. Please, set them free already! They all want to go back to their real mothers! Please!"

Masako drew back suddenly, her words seeming to fold in on themselves. The raven haired actress huddled behind Mai, further away from the hole. John ran towards the two as scripted when—

"Look, Masako! I got cake!" the young girl cried out as she ran on-stage. The actors and actresses looked at their little "Tomiko" and the child merely looked around, confused.

"Why does everybody look so grumpy?"

A collective groan went through the stage.

XxX

"Tomiko" and the actress playing her mother's reunion scene started out wonderful. It almost brought the directors to tears at how nicely it was going, but of course that moment was short-lived when they heard arguing in the background.

"Stop clinging on to me so long!" The blonde-haired man exclaimed in annoyance.

"Like I'd ever _want_ to! It's in the script for me to do this!"

"It doesn't say you have to do it this long!"

"I don't know exactly when the cameras turn to us, you know! We're suppose to always be in character, which you're not even bothering to do right now!"

"Riiiight, what a lame excuse! You're just covering up the fact that you want to be around me more!" A smirk appeared on his face, obviously only saying that comment for a deeper jab.

"_What?!_ Eww, gross! Where the hell did you ever get that—"

"Of course I'd rather have my hands chopped off than ever spend time with you. Especially with a face like _yours_."

Both directors watched as Oliver went to his girlfriend and forcibly removed her from the set just as it looked like she was going to punch John in the face. As Mai's shouts became more muffled, Nia turned her head towards Amy.

"So...I was thinking we should get security guards... Your thoughts?"

XxX

"Thank you so very much," Noriko said. "My brother says he'll return as soon as he can."

"Really?" Mai asked. "Terrific!"

"But, um... are you sure everything is all right now?" Noriko asked, looking straight at Oliver as scripted before casting her gaze aside in worry. Everyone on set knew what she was actually looking at, but made no move to acknowledge it.

"You should have no worries," Oliver stated.

The entire cast waited a moment in silence at his words. Truly, they would have nothing to worry about. Not while John was still getting intensely lectured at by Nia.

"Great job!" Amy cheered. "Onto the next scene!"

Everyone in the cast gave a sweat drop of worry. No worries. Yeah, right.

XxX

"Last one!" Houshou stated, lifting the monitor towards the shelf in the van. "We're set to—" Unfortunately it slipped from his hands a moment too soon and crashed to the ground. "—go..."

Everyone stared at the broken piece of equipment for a moment before Ayako suddenly let out a laugh.

"Pfft! Idiot."

Houshou glared at his sister.

XxX

"Omiyoji?" Mai questioned aloud. "Like Abe what's-his-name?"

Oliver winced off-set. She had butchered her line again—

"A high-level trick like fashioning a hitogata after Tomiko and preforming a purification could only be done by an omiyoji," Hoshou stated, closing his eyes. He was attempting to hold back his laughter on such an obvious screw-up.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Ayako asked. "I mean, an omiyoji."

"Is that amazing?" Mai asked, turning towards the woman. Beyond Ayako, she could see the directors. It actually _was_ kind of amazing they hadn't stopped the shoot after her mess-up.

"It's kind of cool," the woman responded, also glancing at the directors. They weren't making them do another take yet, which was nice. She could get her lines down.

Unbeknownst to the actors—who were now on edge—the directors had decided to keep the little fumble.

XxX

"MAAIII!" Ayami ran towards Mai.

"Err... Hey, Ayami, what's—" Mai cut herself off, her eyes widening, when the little girl wrapped her arms around Mai's legs.

"The meanie directors said Ayami won't be on the show anymore! I don't want to leave Mai!" she cried out. "It's not fair _he_ gets to stay with Mai!" Ayami blindly pointed to Oliver, who was sitting in the van with the door still open. Mai sweatdropped and removed the girl from her so she could bend down to her height.

"Hey, just because you won't be on the show anymore doesn't mean I won't ever see you again." she tried to soothe the girl. Ayami sniffed.

"Really?" her eyes lit up when Mai nodded. "Promise? Promise you'll play with me again?" she asked excitedly. At another confirmation, she threw her arms around Mai's neck.

Nia's eye twitched as she watched the two. Great, now they were going to have to wait until the little girl calmed up to re-shoot the scene.

"If only they hadn't had talked about this being a television show and Ayami hadn't cried so much, we probably could have just let it slid..." Amy muttered under her breath.

* * *

"Ahh, another day done!" Mai exclaimed. She stretched happily and seemed pleased that there weren't _too_ many mess-ups today. "Think we can keep this streak running?"

"Not likely so long as you're playing the lead," Masako snubbed. Mai's good mood broke.

"Do you want a piece of—"

"Hey, it's too late for this kind of fighting," Ayako said, attempting to step in. "We don't want to make the directors too mad at us or they might call us into overtime or something..."

The woman's peace-seeking tenancies were ignored as Mai and Masako's argument escalated.

* * *

**Naruisawesome: Hey everybody! Soooo...ah, we've got something to ask yall...**

**AmyNChan: See, the thing is that we have a bunch of ideas for this fic, but they don't seem to be filling too much into other areas...**

**Naruisawesome: We got a review telling us that a lot of our "bloopers" were repetitive, which we then had realized to be true... I guess what we're asking is what all of you guys, our readers, want us to continue with this story?**

**AmyNChan: And if not, do you guys want a really quick run-through of what we were going to do? The highlights weren't many, but gee were they cute...**

**Naruisawesome: They were, they were! I still get excited just thinking about them... XD**

**AmyNChan: I knoooow... *smiles thinking about it***

**Naruisawesome: *grins before turning back to the readers* Anyways, please let us know what you would like us to do!**

**AmyNChan: We hope to see you guys later! *waves***


	9. Chapter 9: AN ANNOUNCEMENT

**ATTENTION!**

**Hey guys... So, um, I know Amy-chan and I asked in the last chapter if you wanted us to continue or not, and we had planned to keep going because all of y'all wanted us to, but... We can't any more, I'm sorry. Amy-chan can't find the time to do it anymore and I couldn't even think about doing it without her, so sadly this story will be discontinued. :(**

**However, below is some of the stuff we were writing for the next chapter before we decided to discontinue it... I thought it would be a waste to just delete all of it, so please enjoy the last bit of Ghost Hunt: Behind the Scenes. Thank you to everyone for the support, I had a really fun time writing this story. *fans myself trying not to cry, though it's not helping***

* * *

Amy walked into the studio, wondering what on earth they could possibly do to reduce the amount of tomfoolery that happened each day. It would be fine if there was some amount of kindness or playful mischief behind the works, but the actors seemed to genuinely dislike those they had not come with. It gave the dynamics in the show something great, but Amy felt like both her and Nia would like the actors to find some common ground. Something they could bond over.

"If only to keep them from killing each other," she muttered aloud. She soon heard a small laugh behind her. She quickly turned around, a bit startled, to only see her friend slash co-worker standing there with a sucker in her mouth and an amused expression.

"I have a feeling we've both been thinking the same thing." Nia commented, taking a few steps closer to Amy.

"Bodyguard?" Amy asked, recalling their previous conversation. "But who could we talk into doing it?"

Nia sighed as she sat down in her chair, specifically for her to sit in. "I was thinking about that all night... What about _that_ guy who was the bodyguard of the Black Butler television show? I heard from their director that he was pretty good. Although there was only two people who had it out for each other there and not the entire cast like here..." she frowned.

"We'd have to ask, but that sounds like a plan," Amy agreed as she sat in her chair. "Let's see if he can keep our cast from tearing each other apart..."

Nia nodded a bit while slowly twirling around the sucker in her mouth. "We should probably do it as soon as possible. You wanna call them or should I?" she asked.

"Excuse me," a voice said, interrupting them. The directors turned to see Oliver, somehow patiently waiting for them to notice him. "I need to speak with one of you."

Amy turned to Nia. "I'll see what he wants, you make the call, okay?"

Nia glanced at Oliver first before looking back at her friend. Honestly she didn't feel like dealing with whatever issue or compliant he had, Amy could do it. Calling the director of Black Butler seemed much easier.

"Sure," she nodded. "Fine by me." Then she left with a small wave, leaving the two of them to talk while she had a call to make.

* * *

"Here you are," Mai said cheerfully as she placed a cup of pre-made tea in front of their guest actress. She was obviously nervous—possibly from being on camera—but stuttered her next line as she ought to have.

"Th-thanks," she said, bowing slightly. Mai smiled at the girl, thinking that this girl only had a few moments before something happened.

"So you're telling me that after your friend Ouija-boarded in the classroom, she has been acting strangely?" he asked. Mai repressed her surprise. They had worked out to give the new girl at least one prank before the end of the day. She had thought he would get it over with sooner rather than later.

"Yes," the new girl said, waiting a moment before continuing. While the girl continued her monologue, Mai looked towards her boyfriend. The look on his face was not one of faux concentration, similar to the rest of the time they had been on-set. His mind was far away, dwelling on something that she did not know. He had been this way since the end of shooting last week. What could possibly...

"Mai, you were supposed to step back in fright and slight disgust," Amy called out, breaking Mai from her thoughts. The girl blinked while the other actors shared a smirk.

"Maybe she's been away from the set so long as to forget how to act," Masako snubbed. Mai threw the tea tray in her general direction.

"Say that again!"

XxX

"...I know it sounds crazy, but...I really think she might be possessed by a fox." The girl clenched her hands on her lap, making them tremble.

"By a fox? Sounds more like a demon to me..." Mai gave a small innocent shrug at the stern look her boyfriend gave her and ignored the horrified look the new girl made at her interrupting her lines. "Well, it does..."

XxX

"You can't be serious," Ayako frowned at her brother off-set. The directors were scolding Mai for what seemed like the umpteenth time. "You brought it?"

"I needed something to do. If we pull off any more pranks today I think Amy might scream "off with his head!"," Hoshou said as he sat back, fiddling with his beloved instrument. Ayako groaned.

"You could have at least let me know about it. I would have brought mine," she said, eyeing the saxophone with envy.

"Oh, you didn't get the memo?" Amy asked, poking her head into the sibling's conversation. Both of them jumped away from her intrusion.

"What memo?" Hoshou asked, massaging his heart. Amy pulled out a script and passed it to the man.

"You're a bassist, not a saxophone player."

"What? Can't we change it? The sax-"

"Isn't as cool as the bass," Amy said. She pointed over her shoulder. "Makeup and costume are expecting you, band man."

Hoshou grumbled as he left his saxophone with his sister. Ayako took great joy in playing a little ditty to accompany his misery.

XxX

"...you could've referred her to someone else!" Mai cried out in annoyance, doing it perfectly.

"Knock, knock! Naruuu! Wassup?" Houshou said, taking his cue to enter on to set. Mai turned her head to look at the newcomer before blinking in shock. Then she burst out laughing while Oliver could only stare with wide eyes at the man's getup. And everyone's jaws dropped off-set.

"WHAT IS _THAT_?!" Nia yelled angrily, stomping on to the set. "Who did this?!" She demanded, gesturing to the cowboy hat and the odd necklace he was wearing. That was not suppose to be part of his wardrobe!

"What? It's cool! I just added some accessories!" Houshou tried to defense himself and not cower away. The director may be incredibly short in size, but she was scary when she mad.

"YOU HAVE NO FASHION SENSE IF YOU THINK THAT'S COOL!"

"But—"

"Take it off!"

"Why can't—"

"No!"

"Nia..." Amy came to them, interrupting before things got too bad. "The show might need some more comedy to it... Maybe we should just let him wear it, yeah?" she nodded a bit to assure her friend. They all tried to ignore Mai's giggles in the background.

Crossing her arms, the blonde girl glared at Houshou a few more moments before she huffed, beginning to walk off stage.

"Fine! Do whatever the crap you want!" Then Nia paused and turned to look at him once again. "But don't think I won't get you back for ruining...this!" She flailed her arms around randomly, finally going back to her chair.

Everyone gulped nervously, especially Houshou. But he still made his mind up to wear it!

XxX

"Oh, Mai-chan, an iced coffee, please," Hoshou said as he placed his cowboy hat on the couch beside him. He _was_ going to put it on her head, but the look he got from Nia was scaring him more than he'd like to admit. And he actually rather liked his cowboy hat, thankyouverymuch.

"B-bou-san? What's with the outfit?" Mai asked, still leery about the entire situation. She was _waiting_ for someone to explode, but still had to act her part out.

"Oh, this?" Hoshou asked as he took off his sunglasses. "I had a live show today. I'm always preforming in basement studios, so it's nice to be in front of people after all this time, but it is exhausting."

"It doesn't seem as though your band is very popular, then," Oliver noted with the same deadpanned tone and expression as his character. Mai and Hoshou glanced quickly towards the directors only to find that Nia had gone somewhere. Amy was glaring at the scene with a keen eye.

"Do it again and hope that Nia comes back soon, or she's gonna have to hold me back," Amy said in a deadpan. Hoshou gathered his props and hurried out the front door, eager to do the scene again. Amy sighed as she looked off to the side where Nia was conversing with their latest _addition_.

XxX

"But how can you work at Mt. Kyouya and be in a band?" Mai asked curiously. "Are you just a monk on the side?"

"_Kinda_—" Houshou began, removing his hand from the handle of the guitar case. But as he did, his hand accidentally knocked it a bit and the poorly balanced case fell to the floor. He and Mai stared at it for a few moments before glancing at one another. Then Houshou smoothly picked it up and continued saying his lines as if no one had noticed the slip-up.

Amy sighed and shook her head. "Cut. Just cut."

XxX

"Still, in this profession, there's a surprising amount of curses and such," Hoshou explained. "Being an ex-monk, whenever something comes up, I get called in, so I have a side business of being a prayersmith. Got it?"

"Uh-huh..." Mai nodded, looking up as she 'processed' the information. "Got it..."

The girl sighed in a somewhat defeated manner, which wasn't in the script. The boys allowed her the moment before continuing with the lines.

"I don't wanna redo that because of a sigh... we could edit it out, right?" Amy asked. Nia shook her head.

"Nah, we'll just give her more work to do. A dub-over or some thoughts or something. Then she won't do it so much next time around."

"Good idea, bosses."

Amy and Nia looked over at their new hire, both wondering when exactly he had gotten there and also curious as to why none of the rest of the cast seemed to notice him. He simply smiled at the both of them.

XxX

Not really paying attention at the time, Mai sat the glass of iced tea down on the table. She inwardly smiled. The last couple of scenes with Oliver and Houshou had gone great; now it was her turn on camera again, and she was certain it'd go smoothly. After all, all she had to do was place the cup down. There's no way she could mess _that_ up—

"Woah, woah, woah! Mai!" Houshou's seemingly upset voice snapped her out of her reverie. She frowned at him in confusion. "There was a coaster _right there_!" He picked up the cup and placed it on the coaster to emphasis his point. "Why wouldn't you put the glass on it? I mean, seriously, you placed it right beside it but not on it!"

Mai raised a brow and glanced questioning at Oliver, who sat in silence and watched the scene in front of him. Was it really that big of a deal? He gave his girlfriend a small shrug. The brunette sighed as Houshou continued to rant on and on.

Crazy man.


End file.
